Mismatched

In late 2018, Netflix India and Ronnie Screwvala of RSVP Movies, approached screenwriter Gazal Dhaliwal, to adapt Sandhya Menon’s 2017 novel When Dimple Met Rishi for Indian audiences,[4] which is about two Indo-American teenagers, Dimple and Rishi (the titular characters), whose parents are trying to arrange their marriage.[8] Published by Hachette Book Group, it opened to good response from readers, and became one of the best selling novel, according to a report from New York Times.[8] Netflix picked Akarsh Khurana (of Karwaan fame),[9] and Nipun Avinash Dharmadhikari, to direct the series.[10]

Dhaliwal had already finished writing the script, before Khurana being roped in to helm the series, but Khurana opined the script as it as a love-story between two real people with real issues, he added: "Even though this was essentially a young adult romance, there was maturity in the way it was depicted. Dhaliwal, who counts Kuch Kuch Hota Hai as one of her guilty pleasures, was similarly drawn in by the simplicity of the high-school romance at the heart of the book, a contrast to the large-scale candyfloss high school universe depicted in Hindi films."[10]

In a Firstpost interview, Dhaliawal stated about the casting and characters, syncing to the adaptation and the liberties while recalibrating the story to the Indian context.[10] She added "The story is about a setup which has gone horribly wrong. To make that happen, it was important to change the family dynamics. Akarsh and I felt very strongly about the fact that it wouldn’t have been believable for Indian viewers if Rishi’s parents were behind him to start looking out for girls when he’s all of 18 so that he can get married in two years. So I introduced a grandmother in the mix (her character is not featured in the book), effectively using the older generation’s adherence to tradition as justification for the arranged marriage setup. I also played around with Rishi’s dynamics with his parents as well: In the book, Rishi’s parents, who belong to a typical Gujarati family, are still together and Rishi is built to be more obedient than hopeless romantic."[10]

Prajakta Koli and Rohit Saraf were casted in the series, eventually maeking the film debut for the former.[11] In an interview, Saraf stated "The biggest selling point for him about the show was the 'romance' it has. The love, ambition, navigating through the college years of one’s life and a kind of acceptance toward all that I going on in the life was something I found very relatable."[12] Koli further described her character Dimple as "She’s very driven to achieve her goal; if she doesn’t, her parents will get her married! Isn’t that relatable to so many girls —and boys — across the country? I have so many cousins in my family who are dealing with this dilemma. That’s why Dimple is so tough to crack; she doesn’t let her guard down at all."[13] Rannvijay Singha stated his character as "cool and snarky on the outside but a softie inside, Professor Sid (himself) believes in tough love when it comes to his students". Speaking about his role, he further added that his character wants to push students out of their comfort zones so that they can each reach their highest potential.[14]

While the book is set in the United States,[15] the story was adapted to take place in Jaipur. About the setting, Khurana stated in an interview to Poulomi Das of Firstpost, that "When I initially read Gazal’s take on the book, what I loved was that she altered the context for the love story at the centre of the proceedings and introduced a host of new characters who had very distinct characteristics which made the world building so much more interesting."[10]

Shooting of the series took place on November 2019, with some portions being filmed Old Royal School of Jodhpur,[16] and majority of the scenes were filmed in Jaipur. The shooting took place for 40-50 days, with the cast members shot the scenes for 12 hours everyday.[17] The post-production works were completed in May 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in India.[18]

Mismatched
Soundtrack album by Jasleen Royal, Samar Grewal, Anurag Saikia, Prateek Kuhad, Shashwat Singh, Taaruk Raina, Deepa Unnikrishnan, Abhijay Negi, Hiphop Bhaiya
Released	11 November 2020
Recorded	2020
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	25:11
Language	Hindi
Label	Netflix
External audio Official Audio Jukebox on YouTube

The soundtrack album for Mismatched, were composed by an assortment of nine artists, which includes Jasleen Royal, Samar Grewal, Anurag Saikia, Prateek Kuhad, Shashwat Singh, Taaruk Raina, Deepa Unnikrishnan, Abhijay Negi and Hiphop Bhaiya with five of them also wrote lyrics for the songs, along with Nikhita Gandhi, Raj Shekhar, Shwetang Shankar, Ritviz.[19] Anurag Saikia also scored the background music for the series. The soundtrack album which released on 11 November 2020, features seven tracks upon the initial release, with an eighth song "Sun Toh" unveiled on 20 November as a bonus track.[20] Reviewing for the soundtrack, Devarsi Ghosh of Scroll.in stated "The Mismatched soundtrack is a couple of soft ballads along with some wacky cross-genre stuff, that doesn't make you disappoint."[21] Umesh Punwani of Koimoi stated "The album consists of fresh, peppy songs that accompany each unique character in this series through their individual journeys. From high energy to heartwarming and even melancholic, this album is perfect for a young, experimental, music-loving audience."[19]