My voice has become my asset, says Sima Taparia, as she launches a shaadi song

Taparia’s new song, ‘Shaadi ki taiyaree hai’, was officially launched in Mumbai on Wednesday evening. With a string of brand endorsements behind her, she is also launching a new app for singles on June 16

MUMBAI: Long before she was a TV star, a well-known quipster and a household name, Sima Taparia was a self-made, self-taught entrepreneur, with clients across the globe. Even universities such as Yale and Stanford, where she was invited to speak this year, have acknowledged this. They want to know: after 15 years of working as a matchmaker, “how did Sima Taparia become famous at the age of 57?”

Sima Taparia, who has spoken at Yale and Stanford, will soon launch an app for singles. (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

At these prestigious institutions, Taparia makes her entry to enthusiastic chants of ‘Sima auntie’ and the strains of her new song, ‘Shaadi ki taiyaree hai’, which was officially launched in Mumbai on Wednesday evening. Taparia dances to the number, and almost gets the crowd on its feet. “When ‘Indian Matchmaking’ (on Netflix) became a hit, my voice also became popular,” she said. “My voice has become my asset.”

In a pink-and-white kurta-pyjama, Taparia meets us in her living room in an apartment in Lower Parel. One after the other, she has been ticking off all her childhood dreams. “First, I was a matchmaker. I was passionate about my work and I worked hard for it. Second, Netflix approached me for ‘Indian Matchmaking’, which has rocked the world. People are loving me, respecting me. That is what I wanted since childhood.” Recently, even actor Deepika Padukone admitted she was binge watching the show.

Next on her list was a song. Growing up in Gulbarga (Kalaburagi), Karnataka, she had five years of training on the harmonium. “My husband, Anup, is my pillar of strength. I told him, ‘I want to sing a song.’ He has never said no to me for anything. So, we got a musician who wrote the song and composed the music, and I sang it. It took one year because we had a lot of teething troubles, but we are now launching it on the auspicious day of Nirjala Ekadashi. People have loved the peppy rap song. I wanted to share my creativity with the world,” said Taparia.

Coming from a “conservative Marwari family”, Taparia launched her matchmaking business in 2005, to some resistance within her family. “I always wanted to receive love from the world. If you remain quiet, nothing will happen. And, I was from a joint family. If I said, ‘I wanted to become a matchmaker’, they would say, ‘Do whatever you want from (within) the house.’ That was the prevalent thinking then. The job involves travel, contacting people, connecting with them, and socialising. My husband travels with me, whether it’s London, US or Dubai. I can say that behind every successful woman is a progressive husband.”

She champions the story of her marital experience on the show. “It’s all destiny. Nothing is in our hands. There must be some other thing in which I’m not lucky. God gives only some things in your jholi. So, we have to be satisfied. Keep our expectations and ego low. My husband and I are North Pole-South Pole. But, we have shown an understanding with each other because everybody has different qualities.” While admitting that she is “a typical, Indian traditional lady”, she said, “My family values have made me a star. These values are thousands of years old. If you follow these values: understanding give-and-take, sharing and caring, being flexible, giving space to your partner, and balancing your professional, personal and family life, then the problem of divorces and depression will go away. Nowadays, youngsters don’t listen to their parents. But, when some outsider says something, they tend to listen.”

Especially when the outsider says things with sass. “I never thought my one-liners would become so popular. In Season 1, I didn’t know what I was doing. I just went with 30 sets of clothes to the US. Netflix has not given a single line to me. ‘Marriages are breaking like biscuits’, ‘the stars are not aligned’, are all my lines.”

“Sima Taparia from Mumbai” is now everywhere, all at once. With a string of brand endorsements behind her, she is also launching a new app for singles on June 16. “Those who don’t want my input can go directly to the app and find their partner. And, those who want my input can come to me. People want me to start other businesses, like a clothing line. I will do more songs. Some movie offers are coming as well,” she said.

At the QnA at Yale, when they asked her about becoming famous at 57, she had said: “The answer is, there are no age barriers. Anyone can achieve anything at any time.”