Hindu Strictly Soulmates

Finding love is hard at the best of times.

I am a bit of an Asian Bridget Jones.

I would like a Mr Darcy.

But when you're young, single and religious,

it's a whole other ball game.

-No sex before marriage.

-Oh!

What would your ideal Jewish person be?

-Full head of hair...

-Excellent!

I'm like, God, seriously, my loins.

Tonight, we're following three Hindu singletons

on their journey to find love.

Want to find someone now.

I've no idea where they're hiding, these Hindu girls.

But should you put your love life in the hands of your mum and dad?

You have to go and see him.

I never, ever thought I'd tell my parents, "OK, I'm ready."

Or do you follow your own heart to find the one?

What's stopping things from getting too solid?

I don't know.

To be honest, that's something you'll have to ask him.

-I worry for the girl, man, because I'm a

-BLEEP.

And if you're trying to find someone from your own faith...

My mum wants me to find a nice Hindu girl.

..what happens when you struggle to get a date?

I just know I don't want to see him anymore, ever.

And when the fear of being left on the shelf all becomes too much...

According to my mum, I should be married with children.

..do you take the biggest gamble of your life for love?

Don't cry, don't cry.

I think she's actually head over heels in love.

I think she's the one, yeah.

Social worker Jalpa lives with her parents in Middlesex.

Mum, they were 50p, get over it.

Like most 25-year-olds, Jalpa likes to let her hair down.

SCREAMING

But Jalpa also stays true to her traditional upbringing.

I am Hindu.

I'm a Swaminarayan, which is a branch of Hinduism.

Jalpa's been single for over a year

and when it comes to men, she usually goes for bad boys.

She hasn't got the best track record,

in terms of the kind of guys she's gone out with.

Now she's decided to ask her dad for help,

but can he do any better for his only daughter than she has?

When I told him, he was ecstatic.

He was so happy, he was just like, "Oh, really?!"

We are looking, she's been interviewed by three, four guys.

Interviewed!

Yeah, it's like interviewing, isn't it?

It is like an interviewing thing.

I never, ever thought I'd tell my parents, "OK, Mum, I'm ready."

We'll see what happens, you can never tell.

I hate these texts and I hate being the first one to text.

I don't mind responding to texts, saying, "Oh, yeah, hi..."

Jalpa always wanted to be married by 26,

but with her birthday only three months away,

she's got Mum as well as Dad involved in the hunt,

and Mum's given her a contact.

-Did his mum give you the number?

-Yeah.

Sound like a bit of a sap.

Mum, can you help me?

What else do I write?

Do they play a game?

-If people reply straightaway are they desperate?

-Yeah.

-It's not a game, no, not really.

-It is.

What would be the perfect etiquette for texting like this?

I would, maybe a few hours later, or if they work then after work.

If he texted back straight away saying,

-"Let's meet for coffee tomorrow," would you text back going, "Yeah, awesome"?

-No.

Oh, got a text.

It's him.

-That was quick!

-I know, see? That was quick.

Short and sweet...

So, now he's hinting, isn't it, really?

I'm not texting back straightaway.

One minute! That is record!

So now you think he's desperate.

No! I don't think he's desperate!

A little bit - he could have given it at least five minutes, you know?

Yeah, but why?

Maybe he thought it was rude to leave longer.

One minute, Mum? That's like record.

When it comes to Hindus, there's a number of options

available for them to meet a partner.

Uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters will say,

"Oh, I know somebody, let me introduce you,

"let's go to their house, they have somebody."

Your mum will get a phone call to say there's XYZ boy, for example.

She'll ask if she's tall, if she's too short put the phone down...

They pass numbers between parents, grandparents, aunties...

She'll ask, "Has she got a degree?"

If she hasn't, put the phone down.

They won't look at if that girl's suited or anything,

it's up to you to decide.

Does she cook round chapatis? She'll probably ask that.

If she doesn't, put the phone down.

Executive PA Hasmita is feeling the pressure to get married.

She's been single for over a year

and her mum's worried she'll end up on the shelf.

According to my mum, I should be married with children by now.

"You haven't got time to be messing around."

I'm not messing around, I'm taking my time, cos this is a lifelong commitment.

Hasmita's sister got married four years ago, so the pressure's now on Hasmita.

She's OK, she's a very busy girl,

but I don't know, Hasmita don't like any boy.

It's not like I don't like any boy, I just haven't met the right boy.

SHE SPEAKS GUJARATI

You can't rush fruit to ripe.

Yeah, take a long time.

But now she's saying that if I'm a mango, I'm too ripe!

Hasmita's been on lots of different dates,

but she's never found anyone who ticks all her boxes.

So many different things on this list.

For a guy to fulfil every single one would just be crazy.

-Ideally non-smoking...

-He has to be tall...

A funny and intelligent boy.

Not someone who's completely teetotal,

because that would be boring.

But serious, as well.

Someone who's, you know, who knows themselves,

knows what they want out of life.

And if that wasn't enough, she'd really like it

if he originated from one particular village in India.

For me, it's a big issue if a boy I'm looking for comes from Madhapar.

That's where all my mum's family is.

A lot of people keep saying the word "compromise" to me.

I'm all up for compromising, but I'm not going to pretend to be something I'm not.

What else won't you compromise on?

Sharing my wardrobe space!

If Hasmita's ever going to find a husband who measures up, she needs help.

Today, she's seeing some traditional Hindu matchmakers,

known as Aunties.

To a certain extent, I want reassurance

that I'm not overly fussy, as everyone keeps telling me.

But it is just that I have a quest to find the right one.

So let's see what happens.

-Hi.

-Hello, Auntie.

-Hi.

What are you looking for in a partner?

And how can we help?

Well, I have a list, and a lot of people think it's a bit far-fetched.

The expectation is quite high for everyone.

I want a prince.

But, there's only a few about, unfortunately.

I've met so many boys in so many different ways it's unbelievable.

How old are you?

I'm going to be 29 next month.

A lot of people say, "Can't wait too long, you'll get too old

"and the right boy for you will have married somebody else."

I don't believe that at all.

You do!?

It's not wasting my life.

Yeah, you need to find someone.

Well you need to find me someone!

Another Auntie telling me to hurry up.

-Take care. We'll be in touch.

-Thank you. Bye.

For the last few weeks, Jalpa's dad has been trying to find a suitable husband for her.

Has anyone else called?

I have to go and see him?

I know, but sometimes they don't text back, it's not my fault.

And then I forget, and then I get confused.

I have seen a few and they've been not that great, so now what?

Do I have to keep on going, keep on going?

But what if I did find myself, then?

How many introductions are you prepared to go on?

Well...

Many? Calm down, Dad, I don't think many.

I say max 10, if it doesn't work out

then I'm living under your roof for the rest of my life.

Within Hindu, you want someone Gujarati...

Then you've got age, gets a bit smaller...

..Someone from a certain village...

..And you end up with about 50 people available to you in the entire United Kingdom.

No, you don't put oil in first, roll the chapati.

Student Amardeep lives in East London with his mum and dad,

who are from the Sindhi region of what is now Pakistan.

Wash your hands first, Amar, don't know where you've been.

Amardeep's been single for over a year.

Even though he's only 22, his mum feels now is the right time

to start the search for his future bride - preferably a Hindu one.

In life he has to be married, settled,

and I thought this would be a right time to meet somebody.

Gentle with it, darling.

Amardeep's always dated non-Hindu girls.

Now he's ready to unleash his charms on someone his mum would approve of.

She's got to look good, first of all.

And height's important, I don't really like short girls.

She's got to be friendly, outgoing, can cook,

And not clingy, I don't like clinginess

Break it, don't move it, don't move it.

So Mum's happy with any Indian.

If I get married to someone that's not, then it creates barriers,

the concept of different cultures, a different way of thinking.

That's it, voila.

BUZZING

Amardeep's mum wants him to find a bride by 25.

And he's got his own special plan to help get the girls - a tattoo.

I suggest you keep it like that and then put it like that.

-A bit smaller or you think that size?

-I think that size is fine, man.

'It's not a problem meeting girls, I can talk to different girls.

'The fact of finding a Hindu girl, I'm finding it very hard.'

-Are you squeamish?

-Very squeamish.

If I start crying I want it cut, I don't want no tears on national TV.

But it appears that Amardeep is having second thoughts about his "love life".

Tattoos, you've just got to go with it, man,

you can't be too fussy about it.

NEEDLE BUZZING

Just the fact it's going to be there for the rest of my life.

It's a good image.

I need my first tattoo, I've been dying for a tattoo since I was 15.

-BLEEP

-it, let's just do it.

Hold up, hold up, hold up, two-minute break.

-It is painful, it's not like

-BLEEP.

Give me some tissue to put in my mouth.

-Just grit your teeth and do it.

-Have you got a mouthpiece or something?

Perfect.

I love life, just got to find a girl.

You've just got to find a girl to love.

Hasmita's spent the last five years searching for the one,

and even the matchmakers haven't managed to find anyone who's right.

But recently there's been a glimmer of hope.

I'm going to e-mail him now, he was asking about my health,

cos I had a cough the other day and was really tired.

One of her aunts in India has been told about a Gujarati boy.

Not only is he looking for a wife, but, amazingly,

he comes from their village in India, and she's put them in touch.

I was just asking him how was his day

and let him know that I had a busy day at work.

His name is Dipesh, and he seems to tick a lot of her boxes.

But there is just one problem - he lives 4,000 miles away in Dubai.

Originally I was like, "I'm not going to waste too much time speaking to him,"

but then I was really impressed with how good his English is,

cos I always thought his English is not going to be that great.

I think if it wasn't for these, Google and Facebook,

I wouldn't consider it, because it helps get to know someone.

You pick up on the things that are important.

I can see he has a lot of pictures of his nieces and nephews,

and when I speak to him he sounds incredibly family-orientated.

It just helps create a picture of someone,

what their interests are and things.

Today, Jalpa is going on her first ever traditional arranged date,

with a boy called Viral.

He was introduced by her mum's sister.

-Hello.

-Hi, Jalpa.

-How are you?

-Nice to meet you.

'I'm just really anxious, because this is all done through family'

and my mum's obviously told my aunts, my aunts told my cousins,

so it's just a long chain, so now I've got text messages, "Are you excited about tonight?"

And it's like, if it was a normal date it wouldn't be like that.

'There is a little bit of pressure.'

-Fancy grabbing a coffee or something?

-Sure.

'Basically, my mum gave me Jalpa's telephone number,

'I gave her a call to see if she was interested in meeting up.'

What I know about her is pretty much her name, um...

'a bit about what she does, but not much detail.'

-So, have you done this a few times?

-A couple, but not like formally,

as in they haven't been through my parents and stuff.

-OK, just like friends and stuff.

-Yeah.

I think the good thing is no-one comes with expectations.

Yeah, you can't, though, can you?

That's what I have learned, as well,

you can't just expect people to be how you want them to be.

-To be fair, it would be ideal if you could just...

-Yeah!

-But I guess that's not the way it works.

-Yeah, it would be very ideal.

'He's a really sweet guy.'

I wouldn't have been like that on a normal date.

'All the stuff he was saying, it's like your whole CV,'

but your personal CV, as well.

What about this weekend, you doing anything?

I've got nothing planned, just catching up with family and stuff.

-Hopefully the weather's supposed to be good, this week.

-Yeah?

Yeah, apparently.

-Do you want another drink, you OK?

-I'm all right, to be fair.

Good, good, good.

-Do you want to make moves?

-Yeah.

-It's getting late.

'It went all right, Jalpa's a nice person, good personality.

'In terms of next steps,'

see what she thinks and take it from there.

'I know when I get home, "How did it go? Was he nice?'

"Are you going to see him again?" Of course, that's the main question.

I don't know, I guess I'll have to think about that on the way home.

But he's really, really, really nice.

But I don't know if he's my type, in the way that, um...

I don't know, I don't know how to say it!

Mum, come and have a look at the photos, Dipesh just sent photos of him.

Hasmita and Dipesh have been talking for the last few months,

and although they've never met, it's beginning to get serious.

I said to him to send me a recent photo,

so he sent me this cos he went shopping.

Usually we end up speaking two, maybe three times a week,

sometimes they're long conversations, I think the last conversation

'was three hours long.'

How's your project at work, is it still busy?

'I like the sound of his voice, cos it's really deep and confident.'

We're working on it for the last two years.

'My mum has already spoken to him,'

and within a minute she ended up asking him, "What are you two doing?"

OK, I'll speak to you tomorrow then.

Yeah, it was nice speaking to you.

It was nice speaking to you, as well.

'It feels natural, I think.

'If it felt uncomfortable I wouldn't be calling him

'and speaking to him as often as I do.'

-Good night, bye.

-Bye.

In Walthamstow, Amardeep is getting ready for a night out.

Look at that crease, there.

Why didn't you take it to the dry-cleaner's?

Why do you leave everything to the last minute?

He's trying out his first ever Hindu singles night.

-Are you nervous?

-A little bit.

It's for Hindus from all over London, as well,

so there'll be Gujaratis, Punjabis, Tamils,

there'll be like a big variety of Hindu girls.

I'll be like stepping into a lion's den, man!

I think it's a good experience for you, Amar,

to see what it's like, the dating scene over here,

to find you a nice partner.

Someone who can iron, as well.

SHE LAUGHS

I've never dated a Hindu girl, or an Asian girl.

It's so hard to find Hindu girls in London,

cos you don't know if they're single or in a relationship.

It's a perfect opportunity for me.

With 25 single girls on tap,

hopefully Amardeep will strike lucky with at least one of them.

If she's ugly, obviously...

Yeah, we can still talk if she's ugly,

but if she wants to talk about food or something,

if she's fat and wants to talk about food, I might talk about food.

So, yeah, I'll just see.

-Hi, I'm Sona, nice to meet you.

-Amar, nice to meet you.

Are you enjoying yourself?

Yeah, I'm enjoying myself.

-Really? Have you pulled any nice, beautiful women yet?

-Not yet.

-Do you know how to?

-I might need some lessons.

Have you got any fit brothers you can introduce me to?

-I'm an only son, an only son.

-All right, see you later.

-I'm one-of-a-kind!

-Cheque, please!

He's a good character,

I mean, he obviously knows how to banter, how to make a girl smile.

-Are there any women here you think you can pull?

-Maybe.

Where? I can't see any.

-I don't know.

-Don't look at me!

-What's your favourite food?

-Indian, I'm Indian.

Your favourite film?

Can you give me something that's not boring? I'm bored. Next!

-Come on, five seconds, five...

-Whoa, whoa, whoa!

..three, two...

Let me ask how old you are first.

Never ask a woman her age! Next!

-That would clear up a lot of...

-Laters.

'He's just boyish, you just want to squeeze his cheeks'

and just be like, "Aw, good little boy,

"go and eat your samosas in the corner, like a good boy."

'She was a bit too much like a rebel.'

I just met her for three minutes and she was outpacing me in every joke.

I think he'll make someone very happy one day.

Just not me!

Although Sona didn't fall for his charms,

Amardeep did manage to get a couple of numbers.

I've got a few contacts, a few Facebook adds.

It went good and I wouldn't mind coming again.

I'm going to get in contact with the girls and take it from there.

Even though Hasmita's never even met Dipesh, she's made a big decision.

She's planning to fly all the way to Dubai to find out if he's the one.

She's come to talk it through with best friend Martina.

Oh, my God! The only point of contact you've had is through Google Talk

or e-mail or phone. You've never met him, you don't know what he's like...

Yeah, but that's because he fits my list and everyone has told me

my list is unrealistic.

Is it because your family know him or...?

Yeah, there's definitely comfort in the fact that my aunt knows him.

OK, he's a random stranger to me, but to my family,

he's not a random stranger and then the more I speak to him

and get to know him, I'll know if he's compatible with me.

Don't you think it's crazy, what you're doing? To go to Dubai?

Are you going on your own or,

like, to go out to some other country and meet some guy, like...

You're scaring me!

I'm not scaring you but I'm just saying, like, you know,

it's kinda crazy.

It sounds scary, it sounds unknown, but I guess, you know,

you don't know until you're in it.

So how was it last night?

Four weeks into his search,

Amardeep's best friend Dipesh has come round

to see how his dating event went.

It was good. I got a few numbers, I got a few names to add on Facebook.

I was surprised to see a Sindhi there, first of all.

-She was a Spanish Sindhi.

-Didn't you get her number?

I got her number and I got her Facebook as well.

-What do you like about her?

-She's Sindhi, first of all.

-Mm.

-She seemed quite friendly and nice.

-How does she look?

-I'll show you know. It should be.

-It's definitely not that one.

-No, that one's in Mumbai.

-It's not a good start.

She ain't got nice handwriting, that's for sure.

-Try I, try I now.

-Which? M? I. That's not even a name!

-She didn't look like SpongeBob, did she!

-Could be that one, you know.

-Shall I add both of them?

-They'll both be like, "Who's this weirdo?"

Amardeep can't find the girl on Facebook, but luckily...

-I got her number.

-Why don't you give her a text?

Yeah, I'll give her a text now. What shall I say?

-Or is that too pushy?

-That's a bit too pushy. Or you could say...

-Is that what you called her?

-No, cos she's Spanish, innit?

Shall I start with...?

-That sounds a bit weird, though!

-It does! That's like stalking, bro!

If someone had said that to you, what would you be like?

-I'd be like, "Weirdo."

-No. "Was nice to meet you yesterday."

-Shall I put my name on the end, then?

-Yeah, obviously put your name, it's a mark of respect.

-Yeah.

-Yeah? Send it?

-Shall we do the other girl now?

-Shall we do the other girl?

-Next!

-OK, open this, Mum.

-What's that, girl?

-Have a look.

Hasmita's got a surprise for her mum.

It's the news she's been praying for.

-These are flight details of my flight to Dubai. I'm going on Monday!

-Is it?

-This Monday?

-Yes.

-Ah! You're surprise! Good luck.

"Good luck," is that what your dad said to you

when you went on the plane?

As a teenager, Hasmita's mum was sent by her father from India

to marry a man she had only ever seen a picture of.

-Don't cry. Don't cry. Too early.

-He was a good man, wasn't he?

Yeah, he is a very good man.

Ah, here she comes!

Jalpa's friend Nishma is getting engaged and she's trying on her outfit.

-D'you like it?

-Yeah!

-I don't know how to wear this.

-How did your date go?

It was good, it was...

He was a nice guy, but you didn't think you could see yourself having a future with him.

-No.

-Why?

I know it's going to sound really stupid

and totally what you guys expect - he's not my type.

We know her type! The type she's not supposed to go for.

Something with a bit of edge.

A rude boy, someone that's really rude to her.

-Yeah, she's the kind of...

-Someone that ignores her.

-Ignore me! What?!

The opposite of who her mum would choose for her, that's Jalpa's type.

It was a good experience, you know, the whole "formal" thing.

-Going to date these...weirdos, yeah!

-Oh, they're not weird!

How do you know they're weird until you see them?

No, I guess they're just like you - eager to get married!

You're weird anyway!

Nishma is the first of Jalpa's close friends to get engaged.

What was that?!

It's exciting, dressing up nicely, putting on make-up

and all that, it's really, really lovely, you know, you get that

whole little buzz as well, and everyone wants to look nice.

-I hate wearing saris! I really detest wearing saris!

-So do I.

When you see things like this happen, you do,

you feel like you want to get married within your culture,

you want to marry someone that follows the same religion as you.

It makes you think, "When's that going to be me?"

I really want to be up there with someone.

It's warm milk.

I don't know what it represents or why we're drinking it,

it just smells really badly. Can you move?!

-Why is everyone drinking milk?

-Don't ask me! Don't ask me!

So nobody knows, we're just drinking milk?

You know how you get broody? This is like...

I don't know the word for it, but that's exactly how that feeling works.

You want to be up there.

Yeah, I did, I really wish, like, you know, I want to find someone now.

Which one shall I take?

It's the night before Hasmita flies to Dubai...

-This one?

-Yeah, I'll take that.

..and her mum has some last-minute relationship advice.

-I'm a grown woman?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Even though her mum has never met Dipesh,

she would love Hasmita to come back engaged.

I'm excited. I'm a little nervous.

I'm not even going to think about all the things that come after it.

Yeah, I have doubts coming into my head. This can go both ways.

There's the perfect, fairy-tale ending

and then there's the reality of, this girl has invested, you know,

six months or more and, in the end, nothing's come of it.

If it doesn't go well, I'll just have to pick myself up and carry on.

I woke up at half two in the morning, having a bit of a reality check

and a bit of a panic attack.

I think I know what people mean by "cold feet" now,

cos I was just like, "Am I really doing this?"

You know? In a few hours, I'm going to be flying on my own,

halfway across the world to meet a boy I've never met before.

I must be crazy!

-It's a long time, you and Dipesh are talking.

-Not long, Mum, six months!

Six months is long!

-So you think he's ripe and ready to get married?

-Yeah.

I don't think I am.

OK, all right, Mum.

OK, yeah, bye!

'I'm glad she's here to see me off cos I can't imagine'

what it would have been like for her to have done it all those years ago.

Cos hers was certain that she was going to marry that boy.

For me, I can come back after two weeks and just say, "No, not for me."

-Bye.

-Bye!

I'm starting to get a little scared which is not like me

but at the same time,

I've never done anything like this, so it takes a bit of Dutch courage.

I don't know, do they serve that on this plane?

This is it, we're landing now.

What if he doesn't like me?

Never thought about that.

-Hi, how are you?

-Good, thanks, how are you?

-How was your flight?

-Good, really nice.

I was really nervous. What if he didn't like me?

I think as soon as I saw him and he saw me,

I felt confident that, OK, he's pleased, I'm pleased.

Let's see what this adventure is going to be all about.

'I think we were both trying to take it in,

'the whole fact that we've been speaking for so long.'

I saw the flowers he got me and I remembered we'd talked about flowers.

It was really bizarre

because I wasn't concerned about the flowers,

I just wanted to keep looking at him at that time.

Amardeep's heard that some other girls from the Hindu dating event

have shown an interest.

He's been quick to follow it up.

I sent an e-mail out a few days ago.

I got a reply back from one girl.

She's a bit cheeky.

I'm stuck now.

I can't answer cos I can't remember what we talked about.

I can't remember what she looks like.

I'm going to send her a cheeky e-mail back.

Hopefully, I can get away with it and get a date.

She's being cheeky to me so I can be cheeky to her. She might like it.

She wrote Toodle Noodles at the end of hers.

In psychology, as well, it says if you imitate somebody's body language

and their spoken language as well, it means you're attracted to them.

If she's using Toodle Noodles and I'm using Toodle Noodles,

you're imitating the behaviour.

That's sent. She should respond to this.

Jalpa's come into central London to meet her second introduction,

the boy she's been texting.

I'm just about to go and meet "Mr Essex".

He doesn't want to be filmed, which is understandable,

It's not for everyone. See you later.

The pressures of going on a date with someone like this, it's pressurising.

You know you're going with intention of,

he could be the one that I'm going to get married to.

That is the most pressurising thing.

He could be the one you're getting married to.

Later that evening...

So what did you think overall?

Overall?

Is he your type or not your type?

Why's this whole type thing coming into it?

It is true, isn't it, really?

He's OK, I get on with him and stuff.

What does he do?

He works in some kind of company. SHE LAUGHS

Would you see him again, if he asked?

I don't know. Maybe, maybe not.

I really don't know, I need to think about it.

I can't say from now.

There just wasn't a spark.

-There wasn't excitement.

-They say it didn't click, basically.

-It didn't click.

-It didn't click, no, mother, it didn't click.

Your parents fundamentally want you to be happy. That's what they do.

They think that getting married is what will make you happy

and they're trying to help you.

There's definitely pressure to get married,

especially when you're the last

and going to your last friend's wedding.

Mum's saying, "You'll get left behind,

"getting older, friends are all getting married

"and you're still single, you can't live a lonely life."

If you give them the indication that it was nice,

maybe we'll see each other again,

then it's like, OK, this could actually happen.

If you say, "no", you have to deal with the "why?"

Right, we've got everything, let's go.

After months of waiting, Hasmita and Dipesh

are finally getting to know each other in person.

Where you going?

-Over here.

-You're facing traffic.

The fact that we were actually spending a lot of time together,

I don't know, it brought us closer together.

It was incredibly striking how fast that happened.

How is it?

-Are you liking it?

-I like it, I think it's really nice.

-Have it.

I don't want you to buy me traditional gold.

Make up your mind first.

-Have you been shopping with women before?

-No.

Exactly.

-This is nice.

-Yes, it is nice.

Really, it is.

Now he's saying everything is nice. Great.

We just fell into this old married couple

as if we've been together 10 years.

It's really bizarre.

It's like you!

Having spent the day seeing the sights of Dubai,

the couple go on their first ever romantic date.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

What made you want to bring me here?

Since we've been speaking, you've been waiting for this?

Yeah?

How does it feel now?

There's just the two of us, so it's perfect.

There's no mums and others getting the calendars out, marking dates.

It's romantic, it's nice,

I feel like I'm catching up with a friend

but also, I'm meeting him for the first time so it's really strange.

It's perfect.

-Do you realise we're moving?

-Yes.

It's like a fairy tale. It's really nice. Thank you.

I don't know, I just feel a connection and a bond.

I do want to carry on looking into his eyes.

Was there a point where you thought we have a good connection?

-What do you think? We understand each other, or what?

-Yes.

We had really a nice time on this cruise.

I never thought that the evening would be that much... It was great.

Do you think she's the one?

Yes, I think she is the one, yes.

When we got home, we were really relaxed and then he was like,

"Yes, we should go for it." Go for what?

I was confused then as in what he meant.

He's like, "Yes, we should go for it, we should get married."

This was so unexpected.

I didn't expect him to say that soon that we should get married.

It's just been absolutely amazing

how everything I've wanted has fallen into place.

In London, Amardeep and his mum

have come to the temple for Saturday worship.

When I go to the temple I get a sense of wellbeing,

peacefulnes.

A lot of Hindu introductions take place at the temple

and Amardeep's hoping he might get lucky.

As the congregation come together for the traditional meal,

he isn't backwards in coming forwards.

MUSIC: "Mr Boombastic" by Shaggy

-What are you studying in London?

-Business management.

What about tonight? Do you want to get a quick drink, 20 minutes.

Tonight?

# Smooth, just like silk... #

-Are you single yourself?

-Yes.

-That's my mobile number.

-Maybe meet tomorrow?

-Yes.

I'll give you a call and on Facebook.

'I got one girl's number.'

We'll see tomorrow whether I can sort out a date or not.

Hopefully, she's a goer.

Although Jalpa's parents have been organising introductions,

she's still been looking herself.

She's met a boy called Diep.

He's 30 and runs his own business, but it's early days.

Me and Diep haven't officialised anything or anything of that sort.

I'm trying to keep my options open

because I don't know where it is heading.

Nothing is set in stone that we're together.

It's not like that at all.

Obviously I do like Diep and stuff.

Getting introduced to people, it's that reaction, you start comparing.

It has a bearing on how you think things are going to turn out.

Tonight, she's out on a date with the man himself.

Jalps, Jalps!

That was so...

Me and Diep, we have a right laugh together.

We can just talk to each other.

That's cheating!

Diep is exactly Jalpa's type.

There's no friendliness when it comes to competition, my love.

I think we bounce off each other really well.

I have a laugh with her like you can't understand.

You're bad, you're bad.

I'm bad? You started it.

I have a fair idea of what she wants.

We have a great time together.

As girls do, fairy tales and she's dreaming

and we both get on very, very well.

It worries me.

What worries you?

The preparing for a wedding.

That's because of your mum and your sister.

But, what about the whole feeling of like being with someone?

OK, when I saw them together, it was really sweet.

The look on his face when the sheet comes down, that was like, wow!

That's the best bit.

Does it not make you feel like, "I wish I'd got married"?

-No.

-Not at all?

For that, yes, maybe. We'll see.

How about next year?

-Stop.

-Are you ready?

My mum knows that we meet, but no-one else does.

I don't even tell my grandma. She'll get way too excited.

If things do get more solid, then she'll probably know.

I'll tell her.

-What's stopping things from getting too solid?

-I don't know.

To be honest, that's something that you'll have to ask him.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you, I had a great time.

-So did I.

-I worry for the girl, man. Because I'm a

-BLEEP.

I don't want to hurt her. I never want to hurt her.

I think she's got an amazing personality and...

..I like it when she smiles. I'd prefer her to stay smiling.

After a two-week whirlwind romance, Hasmita's back in London.

And she's engaged.

I'm back from Dubai, having spent some time with Dipesh.

It was really nice, and I can be soppy and say it was magical.

So is it love, do you think?

-Yeah.

-Why are you emotional?

I guess cos I miss him.

And it's cos I know I'm really lucky to have found someone.

And it's not just about the ticking the boxes and the other stuff,

it's the connection that we have, and it's really nice.

# I can see for miles, miles, miles. #

I'm not saying we're the perfect couple and we don't have issues.

We will. The first year is going to be horrendous cos everyone warns me it's going to be horrendous.

Um...

But we'll work through it cos we want to and that's the key thing.

Is it hard being back without him after such a whirlwind?

-It was a whirlwind.

-Yeah, it is.

# I can see for miles, miles, miles, miles. #

Back at home, Hasmita and her mum are starting to plan the wedding.

Do you want to see him first? You can go to Dubai first.

Seeing not necessary. See on the wedding day.

It might be too late then! What if you don't like him?

Oh, no. My daughter choose it, then I am happy.

There's only three months to go, you know that.

How much time do you need to plan the wedding?

Maybe eight weeks, nine weeks.

-Now I'm handing over to you. You do the wedding.

-Don't worry. I'm happy.

As long as you're happy.

Yeah, yeah, I'm happy.

Finally, after four months of disastrous attempts,

Amardeep has got a date.

-Hi, there. Nice to meet you.

-Hi, nice to meet you.

-My name's Amardeep. What's your name?

-Sheila.

-Nice to meet you.

-Do you know anything about me?

-I don't know nothing.

-How old are you?

-23.

-I'm 27.

-You're 27?

Thank you.

-So what was your last relationship?

-At uni. I was dating an Israeli girl.

I dated her for a year. She was a really nice girl.

-That was my only serious relationship.

-Ever?

-Six months is a long time.

-Really?

-Have you got a tattoo?

-I've got loads.

I've got an aum, I've got a ganesh...

-I've got...

-Let me see.

"Love life"? Are you serious? You've got a tattoo saying "love life"?

-Of course. Why not?

-It's a bit meaningless, though.

-Not really.

-Does it mean that much to you?

She's quite negative.

She's got a mocking attitude and negative kind of...

She had nothing too positive to say.

When it came to the conversation about what you look for in a person,

we just had completely two different attitudes to that.

That kind of put me off a little bit.

You have to be attracted to a person, cos you got to wake up next to that person every morning.

I don't think looks are that important.

There's got to be something to attract you.

-Yeah.

-But that's just 10%, maybe 20%.

If I'm going to go out with someone, I need to be attracted to them.

-The way they look or their personality?

-The way they look!

I'm taking a minging person home with me.

-That's just me telling myself I've really

-BLEEP

-my life up.

'We really disagreed, and what's pissed me off'

is that he thinks looks aren't important and personality is.

He's lying.

-You have to fancy someone.

-You have to fancy someone first.

Yeah. You're making it sound like,

"It's all right to go out with a minger, they've got a great personality",

and your kids might be ugly.

Obviously looks are important, that's why I don't love him.

'It's just not happening.'

And he ordered more drinks, and then he started ordering food.

I thought we were going to go soon. Just kept dragging on for ever.

So...

I don't want to say anything bad, but...

she seems set in her ways.

I'm looking for a different... She's not funny, she's not jokey.

She's a bit serious.

Maybe it's me. Maybe it's not him.

Who knows? I just know I don't want to see him any more. Ever.

-And he's got really

-BLEEP

-clothes as well.

What do you think of the date so far? SHE LAUGHS

INTERVIEWER: What were your highlights?

The food was good, I enjoyed it. It was nice.

It's four months since Dubai,

and Hasmita is finally reunited with Dipesh for her wedding.

She's travelled 6,000 miles to Madhapar in northern India

and today, they're shopping for bridal bindis for the wedding

in three days' time.

Choose whatever you like. It will look nice on you.

What, you want me to wear them?

-Everyone does here so that will look nice on you.

-I know but I don't...

OK, we'll have a look.

-Like this?

-Yeah, this other one.

-This is nice.

-Yeah, these are the nice ones.

-These are nicer.

-Will you help me put it on? I think...

-This one.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

SHE LAUGHS

This is only the second time the couple have ever met.

-Four months went really fast for me.

-Yeah...

Four months feel like...four weeks.

'So when I first saw Dipesh at the airport it was really strange'

cos I got really nervous a few days before, thinking,

"Oh, God, what if something's not right when I see him?"

I was much more excited than the first time when I met her at Dubai Airport.

# I can't conceal... #

We were just looking at each other and it just felt so as if...

It was as if we'd been married for ten years

and we haven't seen each other for four months.

'I think the distance helped us fall in love more, I think.'

We have similar thoughts. Our bonding is nice.

'I just like being a part of her'

and spending time with her.

# See, what I'm trying to say is

# You make things better... #

How did you tell your mum that we're going to get married?

My mum said that, if you guys are happy doing it together then it's your choice.

-So she was happy?

-She was happy.

-She liked me when I saw her.

-Yeah.

-My mum and dad are so excited.

-Yeah, my auntie's coming from Mumbai.

We have to organise the food, isn't it, for everybody?

Have to organise the food, the Dandiyas and all.

-The dancing.

-The dancing, the music nights and all.

Yeah, what time do you arrive on the horse?

-You're not doing the elephant, are you?

-No.

-My auntie told me it's not a good idea cos it poos everywhere!

-Yeah.

The kind of love and relationship that I was expecting to have with my husband

is exactly what it is.

Even the stress of planning this wedding, we've been ourselves.

# See, what I'm trying to say is

# You make things better

# It's better... #

CHEERING

Tonight it's Jalpa's 26th birthday but Diep isn't there.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

She always hoped she'd be married by now.

But after months of following the traditional family approach,

-she's come to a decision.

-I don't want to do the introduction thing.

I don't want to meet these people and talk to them

and have a very...

..painful date.

I don't think it's the way for me to find the person I want to be with.

I don't know what I'll tell my dad. I guess he'd still want to be like,

"Oh, let's see this boy, let's see this boy."

But even if I tell him, "Don't, look", he will.

He'll probably be like, "You know what, I saw this person,"

'and he'll probably wean his way into me like that.'

I just can't be bothered with the whole process

of getting to know someone, speaking to them,

and then going to see them and then thinking,

"Oh, shit, they're not for me."

But for now, Diep is still on the scene.

I don't think she's in love, but then who am I to say anything?

I think if she is, she would have told us and that's why I'm saying I don't.

It's really funny because I think

-she's actually head over heels in love.

-Do you?

-Yeah!

-OK, she thinks... Yeah.

-I think she's head over heels in love.

Me and Diep are good friends, really good friends.

Things are good.

Like, we see each other. We just get along, just have a laugh.

'I love his company, so...'

You just see where it goes. You don't know...

I don't know what's going to happen.

You can't predict what's going to happen.

Yeah, I'm listening.

I want this pot out. That's why I came to give you instruction.

Despite the disaster of his only proper date in months,

Amardeep is feeling good about the future.

There are Hindu girls out there. It's just you got to know the right time, place to find them.

'I think it's important to take my time in the searching.'

I have to mature a little bit, too.

And, there's already some good news.

I've got a few more dates lined up this month, which should be interesting as well.

It's a range. I've got one Punjabi girl, one Sindhi girl, one Gujarati girl.

'I'm looking forward to these dates.

'All these months have prepared me quite well to the whole dating scene

'so I know what I'm saying so I'm smooth.'

It might turn into a serious relationship. I could get lucky.

Finally, after years of searching high and low

for her perfect man,

today Hasmita is getting married.

So this is it, this is my wedding day!

'It's absolutely amazing that I'm in my home town

'and getting ready for a wedding to marry the boy

'that I've always been looking for. It's a complete fairy tale

'as I had no expectations of meeting the prince I've always wanted

'and now he's arriving on a big white horse

'for this big fairy-tale wedding.'

MUSIC: "Paradise" by Coldplay

I'm so happy now.

Dipesh is a lovely boy.

1,500 people have been invited to see Hasmita and Dipesh get married.

MUSIC: "Greatest Day" by Take That

# Today this could be

# The greatest day of our lives... #

'I know he's the one I'm going to spend the rest of my life with.

'I have no doubt whatsoever about it.'

# Let's make a new start... #

We've been praying for seven hours today

so the marriage should be really good.

Yeah.

MAN CHANTS

'Going from a single girl to a married woman is a huge change'

but I've had a long time to be a single girl

and now it's the time to be a married woman.

# And the world comes alive

# And the world comes alive

# And the world comes alive

# Whoa, whoa, whoa! #

-How does it feel to be like man and wife then?

-Yeah, husband and wife.

As soon as someone said "Mrs Budhia" I thought, "No, is that me?!"

# You are the reason that I breathe

# You are the reason that I still believe... #

-It was a fairy-tale wedding day.

-We had a great time together.

I'm feeling quite lucky, to be honest. I'm so glad. It's once in a lifetime.

# Nothing can ever come between us

# So come and dance with me

# Take ho-o-o-old

# You and me, it's destiny

# Catch me, catch me, catch me come on, catch me, I want you now

# I know you can save me come and save me, I need you now

# I am yours for ever yes, for ever I will follow

# Anywhere and anywhere never going to... #

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]

# I need you! Going to make it! #