Fabulous Lives Of Bollywood Wives, Indian Matchmaking, Masaba Masaba: Holy Trinity Of Cringe Content

The past one month has been an interesting one at Netflix. While the movie Darlings opened to serious discussions on domestic violence, the release of Indian Matchmaking just brought back the discussion on cringe content and the fondness people have for such shows.

We then proceeded to the show Masaba Masaba season 2 where fashion designer Masaba Gupta and her actress mum Neena Gupta play fictionalised versions of themselves. The latest release is Karan Johar's Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives, an Indianised version of the cult hit American reality show - The Real Housewives and their various versions.

All three India-focused shows are about the lives of the rich and famous living mainly in Mumbai, with the exception of Indian Matchmaking focusing mainly on NRIs (non-resident Indians) and their marriages. All the three shows also try to tell us how the rich and famous are, in fact, just like the rest of us. So what if they have avocado toasts every morning and worry about repeating outfits or not finding the perfect destination for a summer vacation?

It is not surprising how all three shows had crossovers with each other at some point, because at some level they all focus on one aspect - cringe viewing.

Indian Matchmaking focuses on Sima Taparia from Mumbai who is a matchmaker who caters to only the rich and famous and winces at the mention of homosexuality. She wants the women to compromise, adjust and sacrifice while going ga-ga over the raja betas (eligible bachelors) presented to her.

In Masaba Masaba season 2, Masaba Gupta tries to tell us how much of a struggle she faces in her life when her work is challenged by an up and coming Instagrammer, whose style is not really that bad. Not everyone can afford a 20k saree, some of us are just happy wearing those neon coloured bomber jackets we get for 1,500 rupees!

Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives takes superficiality to another level. We see these wives of Bollywood have-beens trying to do something for the planet and environment and animals, yet obsessing over their outfits mainly.

What is interesting is, in the time of a Sacred Games (web series) and Tumbbad (film), people are obsessing over reality shows and indulging in the new phenomenon of cringe watching, where audiences watch reality shows with completely vacuous and shallow celebrities making fools out of themselves. It is the hangover of Keeping up with the Kardashians.

The first season of Indian matchmaking had one participant who had no idea that a woman has the right to turn down a 'rishta' (marriage proposal) and has deal-breakers when it comes to relationships.

The second season of Masaba Masaba focuses on Masaba's insecurities based on her dislike of Instagram influencers and them getting a space in fashion. Socialites in Delhi and Mumbai have served as the gatekeepers of fashion, so it doesn't really surprise us that these people crinkle up their noses whenever there is a talk about a fashion brand that has been founded by someone who hasn't attended a reputed fashion institute.

Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Lives this season focuses on a Chunky Panday and Bhavana Panday renewing their vows, Maheep Kapoor admitting Sanjay Kapoor's infidelity, Neelam Kothari making a comeback and Seema Sajdeh getting used to being a single mother. Yet, not once does Seema utter the word 'divorce' in the two seasons of the show.

The central theme in all these shows is, as we have mentioned, how these celebs try to sell you their perfect lives while wanting you to think they are as simple and grounded as you. None of the people in these shows have any connection with the word 'struggl' and are shrouded in a thick layer of privilege. Them making fools out of themselves is apparently what is working and is selling.

So it makes you wonder, if this is how they are even when the cameras are off, because you know even if this is a reality show, can people be this superficial?

There are jokes on the pandemic and having 9-5 bank jobs without an iota of regret for people having those jobs or being mindful about how the last three years saw loss of lives and livelihoods for thousands.

In all the three shows, what surprises me is the presence of Neena Gupta, a consummate actress who had given us pathbreaking shows such as Dard and Saans back in the '90s that dealt with extra marital relationships, live-in relationships and single motherhood. She did not have to drag herself down to the level of reality stars.

Even Neelam Kothari, who was an A-lister in the '90s is a part of Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives that makes her out to be a caricature of her own self.

So, who do you blame if Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives, Masaba Masaba and Indian Matchmaking are the most watched on Netflix? Well, clearly cringe sells!

The makers know how hollow these reality stars are and how making a spectacle out of their lives is going to bring numbers to the OTT (over-the-top) platform. People are discussing these shows over dinners, coffees and even on calls. The makers' job is done. They have presented you with a steaming pile of poo on a silver platter.

And what is more funny is, if people have followed the gossip magazines of the '80s and '90s, you would have known some of the scandalous things that these reality stars are talking about openly. They aren't revealing anything that you don't know already. We already know about the clandestine extramarital affairs in Bollywood, the casting couch, the big sleazeballs, the sexism, and the big boys clubs in entertainment industry.

Sima Taparia visits Seema Sajdeh with a view to finding a man for her and is visibly disturbed when Seema tells her she might be into women and this matchmaker proceeds to her with a "This is not open in India as of now". If only these people bothered to open up a newspaper and read or maybe just scroll through Google to know that same-sex unions have been happening in India. People are meeting same-sex people for dating via dating apps and even getting married legally.

Whatever the hate or the stereotypes about the rich and famous are seem to be true when you watch these shows. You assume that these people are empty-headed and do not care about anyone apart from themselves. If that is true, do we really need such role models? Or are they just acting it out?