Indian Matchmaking’s Aparna is just the latest personality to win over the public, despite showing disdain towards just about everything on the
Netflix show
I have always loved a good villain. Sometimes I have loved to hate them, but often I have simply loved them. A doll of Maleficent, the evil fairy from Sleeping Beauty, sits on the shelf of my childhood bedroom. History has finally absolved Sharpay, the glam drama club president from High School Musical, but I have been defending her honour since the film was released in 2006.
Times have changed. If Charles “Coughing Major” Ingram had attempted to cheat on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in 2020 instead of 2001, he would have been hailed as a legend. Many TV protagonists are now written to be indistinguishable from antagonists. It it is widely accepted that villains are usually more entertaining, more nuanced and have more going for them than heroes. This has always been the case on reality TV, however, where baddies have long been king.