Doctor Who's Mandip Gill criticises Indian Matchmaking
The actress, who plays Yasmin Khan in Doctor Who, has condemned Netflix's Indian Matchmaking over its portrayal of colourism.
Netflix's latest reality venture Indian Matchmaking has attracted mixed reviews since landing on the platform last week, with some viewers accusing the show of glorifying colourism and casteism, whilst white-washing the arranged marriage tradition.
Now Doctor Who star Mandip Gill has become the latest critic of the series, describing it as stressful and "s**t".
Taking to Twitter to speak about the show, Gill, who plays the Doctor's companion Yasmin Khan, wrote: "#IndianMatchmaking stressed me out within the first 60 seconds. No lie."
In a follow-up tweet, she then added: "She said you'll come to see her fair skin. I'm done!!! Get outta here with your flipping s**t show!"
[Warning: strong language]
RadioTimes.com has contacted Netflix asking for comment.
The Netflix show follows elite Indian matchmaker Sima Taparia as she gets to know her eight millennial clients in order to pair them with their perfect mate. Over the course of eight episodes, viewers watch these young singles go on a number of first dates, sometimes with their family in tow, to determine whether they'll be meeting their future spouse.
The series has attracted criticism for portraying "fair-skin" as a desirable trait as one single cast member asks for her future husband to be "not too dark, you know, fair-skinned" in one episode.
Various viewers have condemned the series on Twitter, with one user describing the show as "a cesspool of casteism, colourism, sexism and classism".
In a recent interview, Indian Matchmaking's executive producer Smriti Mundhra spoke about the controversial topic.
When asked how she felt about some clients and their parents reinforcing old-school views like "skin fairness and gender roles at home", the filmmaker told Decider they "were not trying to shy away from any uncomfortable conversations".
She continued: "We’re not going to prod and push our cast to sensationalize anything, or bring up anything that’s not authentically part of their process or their experience. If they bring things up, if they talk about certain things…we’re not going to go out of our way to hide anything. I think that’s really important.
"My hope is that it will spark a lot of conversations that all of us need to be having in the South Asian community with our families — that it’ll be a jumping off point for reflections about the things that we prioritize, and the things that we internalize," she added.
Indian Matchmaking is available to stream on Netflix. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our guide to the best series on Netflix and best movies on Netflix, or visit our TV Guide.
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