A power-packed series features Sanya Malhotra,
Neena Gupta, Kirti Kulhari, Sumukhi Suresh, Sushant Divgikar and Maanvi Gagroo
Ahead of the busiest time for online dating,
Bumble, the women-first social networking app, has announced Dating These Days.
An exciting array of popular, notable personalities such as Neena Gupta, Sanya
Malhotra, Kirti Kulhari, Sumukhi Suresh, Sushant Divgikar and Maanvi Gagroo
will facilitate meaningful conversations around dating in India. Bumble’s new
weekly series features unfiltered conversations highlighting various barriers
and challenges to dating and other related hot-topics such as making the first
move, body positivity and familial matrimonial pressure in our dating journeys.
Hosted by Rytasha Rathore, Dating These Days will launch on Monday, December 7,
2020 on Bumble’s YouTube channel.
Whether it’s honest and open conversations about
body positivity and equality in relationships, or the tough realities of
familial matrimonial pressures, the way we are connecting with each other has
never been more important. As India unlocks, and ahead of the new year,
Bumble’s new series Dating These Days is aimed at helping people navigate these
conversations and challenges in dating.
Speaking on familial matrimonial pressures, Neena
Gupta shared, “I have been very vocal about how self-love is of extreme
importance. Relationships and marriages are successful if your happiness is
derived from within. There is also the constant struggle between generation
gaps, however, we need to understand that the older generation is not rigid. We
have just been conditioned to think in a certain way because of our upbringing.
I always have transparent and honest conversations with my daughter who
explains her thought process to me, which helps me understand this generation
better. Communication is the key – the more you talk, the better you
understand. It was a pleasure to share my experiences and opinions on Bumble’s
series with Sanya and Rytasha.”
Speaking on the her experience of familial
matrimonial pressures, actor Sanya Malhotra said, “I think the best way to deal
with the pressure or naysayers is to hear their feedback, take what you want
and discard the rest–you need to be sure of what you really want and tell
yourself that you are doing good. It took me some time to explain to my parents
but eventually they understood. If you are clear about your wants, desires,
aspirations, you'll be strong enough to deal with the unsolicited opinions and
pressures.”
Speaking on body positivity and gender stereotypes
on Bumble’s series Dating These Days, Sushant Divgikar shared, “It’s extremely
important to have dialogues and conversations around such pertinent issues like
body positivity, which we have so comfortably neglected for so many years.
We’ve caused more harm by harping on the fact that there has to be this absurd
standard of ‘beauty’ that people need to adhere to in order to feel or look
beautiful. I’m very happy to have spoken about demolishing gender stereotypes
around beauty, weight, size, colour on Bumble’s Dating These Days series. I
think it’s so important, I’m so happy to be
doing this with two very powerful women–Sumukhi and Rytasha. I respect
them for their art, regardless of their shape and size. We all need to realise
that art has no boundaries, gender or barriers.”
“I love working with Bumble so much that my Bumble
dates ask me if I have invested in the company! And this series was just the
cherry on top. Rytasha is someone I admire and also look up to because she
truly makes me believe that a big girl can be more than cute or loud, but also
be hot. Sushant and I chatted like we
have been best friends for decades and it felt like we have”, commented Sumukhi
Suresh, who will be seen on the episode with Sushant Divgikar.
Kirti Kulhari said, “Making the first move in life
might seem like climbing a mountain, especially when we’re younger and you’re
getting to know yourself and the world. I know the thought of being the first
one to express yourself can be daunting. As a teenager, I lacked self
confidence and self esteem, and always wondered if I could make the first move.
As I grew up and found who I am internally, I realised it's actually empowering
to be the first mover. It takes a lot of courage, but being the first person to
ask someone out, or even to actually propose to someone (I actually asked my
husband to marry me!) is incredibly empowering. Once you’ve done it, like
everything else in life, you laugh at yourself and go–that was super easy!”
Maanvi Gagroo added, “I’m delighted to know that
Bumble enables & encourages women to make the first move in the big bad
world of dating. Had a great time on their new series, 'Dating these days' - a
show I find so refreshingly empowering. For women who want to make the first
move or start a conversation without the fear of judgement, without labels of
'too desperate' or 'too easy'.
Commenting on the new series, Samarpita Samaddar,
Bumble India PR Director shared, “On Bumble, we are committed to provide a safe
space for kind and respectful connections where you can be your authentic self.
‘Dating These Days’ is part of our continued efforts to help people navigate
dating in 2020 and have honest conversations, both big and small, around
various challenges in our dating journeys.”
