Wedding matchmaker from Mumbai Sima Taparia has cast her net wider in Season 3 of Indian Matchmaking, streaming on Netflix. Sima is shuttling between the UK, the US and India in search of compatible partners for her clients, with suitcases packed with ‘biodata’, homemade snacks, her pride and prejudice, and her regressive one-liners. Here are the highlights from Indian Matchmaking Season 3.

Bobby Seagull: The ‘husband-in-waiting’

The one who will most likely be popular after this season is ‘husband-in-waiting’ Bobby Seagull. The math teacher from London comes across as too chatty and tends to hog a conversation himself, without pausing to listen to others much. Bobby also has a lot of nerdy energy and takes interest in various things, which girls seem to like, but he also ends up getting ‘friend-zoned’ a lot.

Vikash Mishra: Season 3’s most annoying

Between matchmaker Sima and candidate Vikash Mishra, it’s tough to decide who’s more annoying. First, Sima age-shames Vikash for being close to 40 and not finding anyone yet, and then says his age is the reason why he ‘can’t be picky anymore’.

Vikash, on his part, shows a stark lack of sensitivity and understanding. An emergency room doctor from California, Vishal wants someone who speaks Hindi, is well-versed with Indian traditions and wants to have children. Yet, for his first candidate, he picks someone who doesn’t speak Hindi or wants kids. He rejects her after three dates, citing almost the same reasons.

At the end of a second date with another girl, Vikash rejects her for being ‘too Indian’ and for ‘having an accent’. By the time he goes on a date with a third girl, you are already put off.

Arti Lalwani: Our favourite this season

Miami’s Arti Lalwani, who works in cyber security, is a breath of fresh air on this show. What makes Arti stand out from Sima’s other clients is her vivaciousness and her warmth, her sense of humour and her candour. Most importantly, it’s her ability to think for herself and cut through Sima’s ideas about marriage in general and how to go about it.

Arti figures out early on in the show that ‘Sima aunty is… an aunty’ and doesn’t get her — or her generation — at all. And hence, the matchmaker is not the one who will be able to find her the kind of man she wants. Arti tries out a dating app where she has better luck and meets the man she finally gets engaged to.

Pavneet Sachdeva: The one we would want to root for

New Delhi’s PR and marketing professional Pavneet Sachdeva comes across as a charming woman. Her most important requirement in a guy is his height — he has to be tall since she is six feet herself. Pavneet is pleasant, is willing to keep her reservations aside and give people a chance. And we hope she gets a better deal from Sima than matches like Tushar Tyagi, a filmmaker who makes their date sound like a hurried job interview.

Returning cast members

Viral and Aashay continue to date and then travel to India to meet their parents. Aashay also shows his seriousness by buying Viral diamond jewellery.

Model Rushali Rai is still on the lookout for the right man after dating Pradhyuman Maloo. In Season 3, after a momentary liking for filmmaker Tushar Tyagi on their first date, Rushali turns him down for not being close enough to his family.

Shital, who has been in a long-distance relationship with Niraj from the previous season, introduces him to her parents and they seem to like him instantly. Later, Niraj takes it to the next level by inviting Shital to move in with him in Miami.

A peek into Sima Taparia’s personal life

In Indian Matchmaking Season 3, Sima talks about her own arranged marriage to husband Anup, and their humble beginnings in Nashik. She recounts living in a small house with many relatives and how she made a career as a matchmaker with her husband’s support. Her daughters, elder son-in-law and granddaughter also feature in an episode but all of them get overshadowed by her glitzy presence. This season, Sima also plays around with her look, trying out different hairstyles and makeup.