In the intriguing world of Netflix’s hit series “Indian Matchmaking,” Viral Joshi emerges not only as a charming character but also as a professional with a fascinating career in the drug development industry. Striking a balance between the intricacies of matchmaking and the complexities of drug research, Viral Joshi’s journey is a testament to the multifaceted lives many individuals lead. While her endeavors in matchmaking make for captivating television, Viral’s professional life adds another layer to her persona. During an exclusive interview with TINDS, Viral shared her incredible journey of coming this far and becoming the sensation she is today.
TINDS: Tell us a little bit about your childhood. Where were you born, and where did you grow up?
Viral: I grew up in the southern part of the United States, in Durham, North Carolina. I’ve been there my whole life, and I was born there. I was raised there, went to school there, and only left permanently this summer when I came to New York. It’s a beautiful place. I actually loved growing up there because the mountains were just two hours away, and North Carolina still has all four seasons. So it was a nice place to be, and just being around a lot of families felt nice since my whole family is based there. It was important to have that growing up.
TINDS: What three words describe you the best?
Viral: Determined, a little skeptical, and practical.
TINDS: Tell us a little about the show Indian Matchmaking How did that happen?
Viral: I was 29 years old at the time, and of course, at that time, in Indian culture, you’re sold right if you’re supposed to be getting married. It’s like that in our culture. It is what it is. I think now we’re working to be different about that, but my parents grew up with that. So, of course, they’re going to treat me kind of with that same upbringing. It felt like the natural next step for me was to find that other person. But still, nothing was working. I figured I needed to find a different way to approach the situation because even Einstein said you can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. One day, I was just on Google, and I googled matchmaking near me or dating near me, and the first result that came up was to apply for the show. It sounded so far-fetched at the time. But again, when everything I was doing wasn’t working, what did I have to lose, right? I went through the whole process of being selected, the entire production team, and things like that. There was an interview process, and then I got selected for the show, and then everything on TV that you see is what happened.
TINDS: Tell me a little about how the show works, though. Is it like they make you meet people, and then it moves on from there?
Viral: So for me, what happened in my story is that I met with Seema Aunty, and I told her what I was looking for, and we went through this very long checklist of what I was looking for. You pair with someone, and then you see how it goes with them on the date. Seema Aunty would call you afterward and check up on how the date went. If it’s not a match and someone decides not to move forward, then she tries to find you another match based on what you didn’t like about the previous person. And then that keeps going, and eventually, you match with someone, and you date them, and she’s very hands-off after that, and then you just take the relationship forward.
TINDS: Are you still working with medicine?
Viral: I work in clinical trials. So what we’re working on right now is Respiratory Care. So, right now, I’m working on this rare disease, and it’s pretty bad. It has very low success rates compared to the currently approved therapies. That’s all there is in the market right now. So I’m working on that project, and it’s very fulfilling for me. It’s very nice to see what’s going to be on the cusp of medicine. The drugs that I work on now will probably be available if all goes according to plan. They’ll be available in five to seven years. So it’s nice to see what’s coming in the future and what we have coming up ahead. I really enjoy what I do.
TINDS: You also work on the radio. Tell us a little about that.
Viral: I am working on a show called Building Inward, and it’s with Rukus Avenue radio. It really focuses on just building more and being internally fulfilled. One thing that I learned from this show was that if I am not fulfilled within myself, no matter how badly I want to be in a relationship with someone, it will never be successful. The purpose of this show is to help people get to that same area within themselves where they’re like; I understand who I am. I know how I operate in the world. I know how things around me affect me, and now that I know this very well about myself, I can bring a better knowledge of my individuality to a relationship, and then I can really move forward. I hope that men and women both work on themselves, because I think if you’re not 100 percent, you can’t bring 100% to your relationship. So, I put a lot of emphasis on internal development in the show. Some exciting stuff is coming up early next year, but I will have them make that announcement.
TINDS: There are a lot of videos of you on the internet where you motivate people to be more into themselves and show them how important it is to work on themselves. So is it what the show had an impact on you, or is it something that you realized along the way?
Viral: It is something I realized along the way, but I would like to add that it comes from being a big reader. I read a lot of nonfiction books, and a lot of that, of course, is related to self-help and building inward, which is where I got the inspiration for the name of the show, but I think ‘Indian Matchmaking‘ the show itself really pushed me forward because I was dating people on the show and I was just realizing and just as mismatches were happening. I think this show really brought that thinking out in me, and from there, I would not have had that perspective had I not gone on this show. So I’m very thankful for the show for that.
TINDS: Do you plan on being in the media industry?
Viral: I don’t see why I can’t do both. I love to emphasize to people. I think it’s very mentally important that you have financial security. You can’t do anything in life without money. It’s wise not to jeopardize your logical job, so I will always keep that going. The media doesn’t pay my bills yet; my job does. You have to be smart about your money, of course, so I distributed my eggs in multiple baskets. So I keep that going, and then I work on creative projects. The work I do with clinical trials. It exercises the logical part of my brain, but you need a creative outlet. Unfortunately, I’m not a good painter or a good singer. I’m not a musician. So it’s important for these types of media conversations where I talk about my creativity, and I can talk about things that matter on a spiritual level rather than just the logistics and the technicalities that come with it. I’m open to every opportunity that comes my way. I do love working on this radio show with Rukus Avenue Radio. They’re wonderful people to work with, so I think that’s very healthy as well. I think they and I are both looking forward to seeing where this goes and then what comes from there. I’m keeping my options open.
TINDS: Coming this far, what would you say you’ve had to struggle with?
Viral: I grew up thinking I needed to have it all figured out by the time I was 22, and when I was young, I had just this timeline: I was going to do whatever an Indian person did; I was going to go to high school, then go to college. I was going to go to medical school. I was going to find my husband in medical school, get married, become a doctor, and have kids by my mid- or early 30s, I guess, and be done. That was my life plan. I was so wrong, and I’m so thankful that life did not happen that way. I encourage people to please break that mold. You will be so much happier without it. And that’s something I wish I could tell my younger self. It’s something I’m going to tell any younger person. Nothing ever went according to plan, and that’s another reason I became a skeptic. It leads to the idea that there is someone else guiding you and that things happen for a reason. It all plays into that. It really goes to say that everything does happen for a reason. I say all the time that not being a doctor is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Now, I have a great work-life balance. It’s wonderful. Nothing ever really goes according to plan, and at any point, it’s worth the wait. It took me a long time to get to a comfortable spot, but I’m glad things happened the way they did.
TINDS: What would your advice be to newbies in the dating world?
Viral: Have an open mind; one thing I always said is I want to date a speaking Gujarati guy, and I was very limited in that, but a lot of people after the show were like, Why don’t you try other things? What is it specifically about Gujarati guys? Then I was like, That’s a good point. Let me try dating someone different. So now I’m dating someone who is a South Indian, and things are going very well. So it’s just like, okay, I would have never found him had I not opened my horizons a little bit. I think it is also very important to be patient with yourself. Dating is, and I know people say this all the time: dating is a numbers game, but the good news is you only have to be a match with one person. That’s the beauty of it. So just keep putting yourself out there, and don’t let rejection wear you down; it’s just going to be a part of it. Just be patient. The right person is out there. If you keep your heart in the right place, I do believe love will always find a way.
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