‘Indian Matchmaking’ Creator Smriti Mundhra Dishes on ‘Cringey Aspects’ Attracting Viewers

variety.com:

Shalini Dore Features News Editor Smriti Mundhra cannot be pigeonholed into one oeuvre. The creator of Netflix’s popular “Indian Matchmaking,” which released its second season recently, directed two episodes of Mindy Kaling’s “Never Have I Ever” for the same streamer, and a segment of Brie Larson’s upcoming Disney+ docuseries “Growing Up.” Her “Shelter” doc short on homelessness is nominated for a news and documentary Emmy, as part of HBO Max series “Through Our Eyes.” Mundhra, whose father, Jagmohan, was also a filmmaker and ran the Culver City theater Meralta, took that name for her production company. “What I love about making films and this work is that it puts a human face on these kinds of big problems.” Mundhra says viewers are drawn to “Indian Matchmaking” because it engages with topics that we don’t talk about a lot. “Some of it is cringey,” she says. “Some of the things we do and say and believe and have internalized over generations are cringey.

It’s difficult to face those topics of conversations; it’s difficult to see that reflected back at you.” She’s been told by fans that they “inhaled” the show, but as for the critics she says: “First of all, I personally find it wildly entertaining.

You have characters and they are on a train that feels relatable, that feels cringey at times, that feels awkward at times, satisfying at times, frustrating at times.

It’s just you have to keep watching.” On a deeper level, though, Mundhra points out that the series raises topics viewers want that are rarely raised. “It brings up these tough conversations — it causes fights,” she says. “But when it happens on a TV show everyone is watching and literally multiple generations, whole families are watching [and] talking about