Parvathy S
Released in 2020, Mismatched is a Netflix series that packs in a lot of comedy and relatable characters. This romantic-comedy coming of age show on Netflix did an excellent job of dancing around the queer character and not touching anywhere. The show focuses on protagonists Rishi and Dimple. Rishi is a hopeless romantic desiring a perfect married life and hopes to get close to Dimple. Whereas marriage is the last thing on Dimple’s mind. She joins a summer course which coincidentally Rishi is also a part of. However, we’ll look into Rishi’s best friend Namratha and her role in this series.
Namratha is a closeted lesbian who has only come out to her best friend, Rishi. The confirmation on her queerness comes only after half the show is over. However, the subtexts indicating a lesbian relationship began before that. And this is precisely where this show is guilty of queerbaiting the audience. We’ll need to talk about one more character, Celina, to look into that thoroughly. Celina is Dimple’s wild and energetic roommate. She’s got blue hair and a flirty attitude. The show dropped many hints around Namratha and Celina’s relationship, who are seen interacting differently than the rest. Despite the alluring dance moves at the party or all the flirty exchanges between the two, the show didn’t give any real confirmation of a relationship. In fact, they portray Celina as a straight girl who behaves the same way around other characters too.
Another point is how the queer representation is always sidelined in such shows. The only queer character in the show isn’t given as much importance as the other characters. Namratha’s role is more of a sidekick being Rishi’s best friend. And despite this, Rishi outs Namratha as a lesbian to Dimple just because he wanted to prove that Namratha and he weren’t romatically involved. Nevertheless, they focus on the harsh reality of being a lesbian in a traditional unaccepting society.
Dimple accidentally lets Celina know that Namratha is interested in her, and Celina freaks out. Celina is later shown yelling at a poor and confused Namratha in public, that unlike her, Celina isn’t a lesbian. Namratha is heartbroken on a lot of accounts. Her best friend outed her without her consent. She is also scared of her family finding out and punishing her as a consequence. This portrayal is super realistic and something to be applauded for this show. It teaches us two main things; one is to never out an individual’s orientation without their permission as it can lead them to getting in danger and discomfort. Two, it shows how ruthless a conservative society can be towards individuals in the queer community.
Now, Mismatched may have shot down any advances for Namratha and Celina in season 1 of the show. Still, the recent season 2 announcement trailer from Netflix also continues to queerbait by showing Namratha and Celina together. What they have in store for the coming season may be vague, but one can only hope the queers get justice and better treatment as the story progresses further.
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