ICYMI: Indian Matchmaking got its first married couple, Ashima Chauhaan and Pradhyuman Maloo, this season. Since the much-awaited Season 2 aired, we got the chance to interview Ashima to know more about their relationship, getting married, and life after the reality TV show.
Scroll down to read Ashima Chauhaan’s interview with Cosmo ME…
Cosmo ME: What were your thoughts on arranged marriages before you met Pradhyuman?
Ashima Chauhaan: I have always firmly believed in taking the time to know the person before tying the knot. Matchmaking is quite common in India but in other parts of the world, there are a lot of misconceptions about this process. Honestly, arranged or love, it’s extremely important to take your own sweet time to understand the person before making a big decision such as marriage. With Pradhyuman, it was smooth because we have a lot of things in common and the most important part is our mutual respect for each other and our values.
C: How was your first interaction with Sima Taparia?
AC: When I first met Sima Aunty, it never felt as if we were meeting for the first time, we danced together and hugged each other as if we were already a family who had met after a long time.
C: Apart from Pradhyuman, are you close to anyone else from the cast of Indian Matchmaking? If so, who is it?
AC: I got my hands on my favourite contestant on the show, Pradhyuman. He has been keeping me so busy that I really didn’t get a chance to interact with the rest of the cast. Jokes apart, I would love a reunion of the show where we can all meet and share our experiences.
Pradhyuman and Sima Aunty in Indian Matchmaking / Netflix
C: How has life changed since Indian Matchmaking aired?
AC: Appearing on screen together did add a lot of value to our lives as a couple. Just think how cool it will be when I’ll ask my kids to watch our love story and wedding on Netflix. Apart from this, there hasn’t been a very major change as I’m an actor so I’m most comfortable on screen.
Ashima and Pradhyuman in Indian Matchmaking / Netflix
C: Could you tell us more about the first time you two met?
AC: Pradhyuman and I met at a friend’s party and as usual, while talking I started cracking jokes and he ended up laughing so much that suddenly it made me wonder if I needed to stop for the night. Then we started meeting often and he opened up with his sense of humour, which was shocking because not many people know how to make others laugh and he belongs to a business world where they just discuss bitcoins, money, the stock market and all serious topics which impressed me a lot.
I guess we liked each other instantly in the first meeting and both of us knew it. Pradhyuman had an idea about how specific I am about my social circle. It has always been small and constant. He respected my beliefs and is hard-working, passionate, and fun-loving. Within no time we became best friends and that’s when I knew he was the one. What’s better than marrying your best friend?
C: How was it planning out the wedding? What was your favourite part?
AC: Planning our wedding has been the most exciting bit of it all, Pradhyuman and I literally got all our outfits and decor done together combining our own favourites. The best part indeed was planning the outfits, we went all crazy and got them all stitched from scratch. Pradhyuman’s mom even designed exclusive jewellery for both of us from her homegrown brand Nornament to match the theme.