I am a sucker for reality television and when I found out that there was going to be a new show that follows an Indian friend group from Miami, I knew this was something I had to get behind. Family Karma just wrapped last weekend as their season finale covered the first gay Indian wedding in their community. Amrit Kapai and Nicholas Kouchoukos celebrated their marriage with a traditional Hindu ceremony and reception to follow. This season of Family Karma was a whirlwind of drama. From cheating allegations to clashing cultures while planning a wedding, season three kept me constantly entertained. I also love that there is more representation out there of our culture, and felt that the content was one hundred percent relatable in every episode.
Throughout the season, we see each “star” deal with their own personal issues and how navigating them is harder than it seems. For example, Monica Vaswani’s main storyline was her boyfriend being accused of cheating and him not wanting to move forward with a proposal. We saw how she struggled with letting go even though there were so many bumps in the road regarding their relationship. I felt that it was important for her to be so vulnerable about this because a lot of people go through similar things. As a woman, I feel that it is very common to want to push more for a relationship compared to men. But, she showed her strength by not settling for anything less than what she wanted.
Another storyline that I felt was very candid was Nicholas and Amrit’s relationship. Nicholas being from a very traditional Catholic family who did not support him coming out as gay really took a toll on him this season. There were emotional scenes of us learning that his parents did not want to walk him down the aisle, as well as him conforming to all the Hindu wedding traditions. There were many arguments on how the different aspects of the wedding should be. I loved how throughout the season, their whole Indian community was so supportive of their relationship as a non-traditional marriage is still very taboo. I recommend watching this season solely to see how beautiful their wedding turned out in the end!
The last storyline that I thought stood out to me was Vishal Parvani and his so-called drinking problem. He and his wife, Richa, argued over him being too drunk on their wedding night to even sleep in the same bed together. This even led to her not signing their marriage license because she was so upset and eventually suggested couples therapy. I know firsthand how much of a struggle it can be to be around someone who has a hard time controlling their drinking habits. It can really spiral into a problem and be genuinely concerning for those around you. I felt that them being so open and honest, while also letting us into their therapy session, was a relatable story to a lot of people.
I am eagerly waiting for them to announce that they are filming season four because there are so many storylines that were left incomplete. The drama seems like it will continue to be entertaining and hopefully let a lot of people know that they are not alone in the problems that they face. In a typical old-school Indian community, it is very common to not air out your dirty laundry and continue to let people think that everything is fine in your life all the time. The fact that they are all getting so candid and letting us into their real issues makes for a successful show.
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