Indian Matchmaking Season 2 brings a host of both new and familiar cast members, meaning a slew of successful — and, well, awkward — dates. It also brings a longer, even quirkier list of partner criteria for expert Mumbai matchmaker Sima Taparia to work with. Throughout the season, the singles navigate the process of finding a soulmate by managing their expectations and taking risks while exploring potential relationships. From first dates to breakups to marriage proposals, the season takes the cast through a series of ups and downs in their journey toward love.
So, since filming, did anyone find their perfect match? Did Aparna finally find the man her astrologer said was in her “orbit”? We caught up with the cast to find out. (Major spoilers ahead.)
Thanks to Sima, Viral met her current partner, Aashay. The start of their relationship shuffled around some of the natural dating timelines that Viral was used to. “Meeting me and my parents at my house for the first time at the same time was quite the experience,” Viral tells Tudum. But things are “developing in a positive direction” despite having to navigate a long-distance relationship, and the two have a strong connection right now.
Working with Sima Aunty forced Viral to do some introspection and reevaluate what she looks for in a partner. “This questioning forced introspection and showed me that if something isn’t exactly on my checklist, it’s not the end of the world, as long as one person doesn’t feel he or she is doing all of the compromising,” she says. “I think Sima Aunty found a great match for me in Aashay.”
Shital ends Season 2 with a new boyfriend, Niraj, who she met after a few of Sima Aunty’s matches. “We’re enjoying the journey of getting to know each other, continuing to learn and grow,” she says.
While she didn’t end up with a match that Sima set her up with, Shital believes that her dating journey was reinvigorated by her experience with more traditional matchmaking. “Through the process, I realized I was not fully opening my heart due to past wounds and was holding on to preconceived notions and judgements around what a relationship was supposed to look like versus focusing on the feeling of love and true partnership,” Shital shares. “I worked with Sima Aunty through a couple of matches and ultimately the process allowed me to open my heart once again, and I ended up meeting my best friend and soulmate. I do see marriage and children in my future and am working towards that goal and enjoying the process!”
Wedding bells ring for Pradhyuman, as we see him and Ashima go from boyfriend and girlfriend to husband and wife. Pradhyuman also met his partner outside of the matches that were set up for him by Sima, but credits his time working with her for the new life he’s built. “The experience has given me an all-new perspective, about various dimensions of my personality both on the personal and professional front, widening my horizons,” he says.
The newlywed couple is exploring life as a duo and working together to expand each other’s horizons. “I strongly feel that Ashima and I are still exploring our identities individually as well as together as a couple, and definitely the together part of it is the most exciting and beautiful,” he shares. “The silver lining is that we discovered having various common interests that we are trying to explore as a couple together.”
Vinesh is focusing on family at the moment, spending time with his baby nephew and training his puppy. While the matches he met through Sima Aunty didn’t lead to longer-term romantic relationships, the nature of the meetings led to strong friendships, and Vinesh is still in touch with Mosum. “We have a really friendly connection, and the fact that she met my parents was kind of a big deal,” he explains. “I think we’re both really happy and truly want the best for each other, and it’s always easy to catch up with her and the conversation just flows.”
Akshay makes it clear in Indian Matchmaking that it’s important to him to find a wife who has an interest in his family business of poultry farming. He’s currently working on prioritizing this work and is focused on expanding the business internationally, and his time working with Sima has broadened his horizons and helped build his confidence.
Sima introduces Akshay to one potential match, Devika, and while the two are still in touch as friends, they don’t see a romantic connection in their future. But while Akshay looks for his soulmate, he’s cemented in his views surrounding compromise in relationships. “Society and people will always have their perspective and opinions, but it’s up to you and your partner to decide where your collective happiness lies. Compromise is something I don’t believe in, but I’m more than happy to sacrifice in love and relationship,” he says.
In Indian Matchmaking, Arshneel often includes one important question for his matches: “Have you ever dated someone who wears a turban?” “I was nervous going into this process that people would place me in a bucket based on my appearance,” he explains. “It was a pleasant surprise that my experience was the complete opposite! [My experience working with Sima] has definitely broadened my perspective and opened up my mind to meeting new people who might not fit a predefined criteria.”
His time with Sima Aunty’s match, Rinkle, went well, and the two remain friends, but he’s still looking for love. “Now that I’m close to finishing up my cardiology fellowship, I’m ready to focus on my wife fellowship.”
Nadia hasn’t had the easiest journey finding love, and with Season 2 comes a difficult breakup. Now Nadia’s staying busy with her event planning business, and she’s had some of her busiest wedding planning seasons to date. She’s also spending a lot of time with her new partner in crime, puppy Millie.
On the relationship front, Nadia’s actively dating, but “nothing has been noteworthy,” she shares. While she and Shekar continued to talk for quite a while, the two have since lost touch. Nadia’s time with Sima has inspired her to approach her search for a partner in more intentional ways. “I’m still looking for a partner. I’m approaching my search in a much more conscious and thoughtful way and have met some great men,” she says. “I’m using dating apps but also trying to put myself into situations where I could meet like-minded people.”
Despite the lows of her journey, Nadia still believes in matchmaking, and she’s confident that it’s a viable option for her generation. “I’m hopeful that my soulmate and partner is out there and we’ll find each other when the time is right.”
Aparna’s been busy since we last saw her. As we see in Season 2, the Texas native makes the move to New York City and shares that she currently has multiple new projects in the works, including screenplays and a docuseries.
While Aparna chooses not to work with a matchmaker during Season 2, she’s since made sure that those in her life who know her best are on the lookout for potential partners. “So much of our cultural matchmaking involves aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and even co-workers setting you up with someone they believe is a good fit for you, and that’s a special part of the South Asian matchmaking experience that I truly enjoyed,” she says. “It was such a vastly different experience when my matchmaker was truly a friend, a cheerleader of my happiness and someone who thoughtfully listened to me and matched me with someone she thought was a good fit!”
At this point, Aparna’s living life on her own terms, and making her personal journey her priority. “I’m focused on living my best life and making myself happy so that I am the very best version of myself and can be an amazing partner when the right guy does come along.”
