Reality TV series ‘Bollywed’ features a South Asian family with a bridal shop in Toronto

01 Mar 2023

今年早些时候在 CBC Gem 播出并可在线免费观看的真人秀系列节目《宝莉结婚》向观众介绍了一个南亚家庭，他们在多伦多小印度的杰拉德街经营一家名为“Chandan”的婚纱店已有 37 年。 The reality TV series Bollywed, which aired on CBC Gem earlier this year and can now be watched online for free, introduces viewers to a South Asian family that has run a bridal shop ‘Chandan’ on Gerard Street in Toronto’s Little India for 37 years.

CBC 的《金的便利》讲述了一个韩裔加拿大家庭的生活和他们的生意，这部 10 集的节目让我们得以一窥锡克移民家庭的代际家庭动态。它向观众介绍迷人的南亚文化和时尚世界，并聚焦印度婚礼和印度本身。 On the lines of CBC’s Kim’s Convenience, which follows the lives of a Korean-Canadian family and their business, this 10-episode show offers a glimpse into the intergenerational family dynamics of an immigrant Sikh family. It introduces viewers to the fascinating world of South Asian culture and fashion and shines a spotlight on Indian weddings, and India itself.

该节目以辛格家族为主角——父母贾廷德帕尔辛格 (Kuki) 和他的妻子萨拉布吉特 (Sarab)，以及他们的两个孩子 Chandan 和 Chandni，以及儿媳 Roop。 The show features the Singh family – the parents Jatinder Pal Singh (Kuki), and his wife Sarabjeet (Sarab), along with their two children Chandan and Chandni, and daughter-in-law Roop.

Kuki 和 Sarab Singh 40 年前移民到加拿大，他们名下的名字很少。 1986年，他们开设了以他们第一个儿子的名字命名的婚纱店“Chandan”。一家人住在商店楼上，Chandan 和他的妹妹 Chandni 在衣架旁长大。除了为新娘、新郎和家人准备的结婚礼服外，这家商店还出售炫目的派对服装以及男女配饰。 Kuki and Sarab Singh, immigrated to Canada 40 years ago with very little to their name. In 1986, they opened their bridal shop ‘Chandan’ named after their first-born son. The family lived above the store, and Chandan and his sister Chandni grew up amongst the rack of clothes. In addition to wedding wear for brides, grooms and families, the store houses glitzy party outfits as well as accessories for women and men.

两代人共同经营家族企业时，充满了戏剧性和笑声。该节目还揭示了许多移民可能会涉及到的现实生活话题：从父母的期望（“孙子孙女什么时候来？”），成长为“第三文化孩子”，到旧方式与新方式的主题。 There’s plenty of drama and laughs as two generations work together on running their family business. The show also unpacks real life topics that many immigrants will be able to relate to: from parental expectations (“when are the grandkids coming?”), growing up as ‘third culture kids’, to the theme of old ways versus new ways.

那么这个节目的想法是从哪里来的呢？ Chandan 说，当美国连续剧《Say Yes to the Dress》在 2000 年代初广受欢迎时，顾客会说，“你应该有自己的节目！” So where did the idea for the show come from? Chandan says that when the American series Say Yes to the Dress became widely popular in the early 2000s, customers would say, “you should have your own show!”

Chandan 决定推销这个概念。 “我知道我的家人的结合，生意是成功的秘诀。有一天，我在一场婚礼秀上遇到了 Gurjeet 和 Carolyn（来自 Heart Hat Entertainment，Bollywed 的制作公司），我们讨论了这个想法，现在剩下的都成为历史了，”他说。 Chandan decided to pitch the concept. “I knew the combination of my family, and the business was a winning recipe. I met Gurjeet and Carolyn (from Heart Hat Entertainment, Bollywed‘s production company) one day at a wedding show, we talked about the idea and now the rest is history,” he says.

Chandan Singh 说，由于他们的创业背景，经营这家企业对他们来说很容易。 “我父亲看着他父亲成为一名企业家，我也看着我的。和我妈妈一样，她看着她爸爸一生都在印度经营一家机械店。老实说，我认为这是我们的血液，”他说。 Chandan Singh says that running the business came easy to the family because of their entrepreneurial background.  “My father watched his father be an entrepreneur, and I watched mine. Same with my mother, she watched her dad run a mechanic shop in India his whole life. I honestly think it’s in our blood,” he says.

“尽管有时会让人筋疲力尽，但日常项目和活动以及销售带来的兴奋感总是让我们热血沸腾。” “As exhausting as it can be sometimes, the thrill of everyday projects and events, and sales, always gets all of our blood pumping.”

归根结底，Chandan 对新移民的建议直截了当。 “努力工作。要谦虚。说实话。” At the end of the day, Chandan’s advice to newcomers and immigrants is straightforward. “Work hard. Be humble. Be honest.”

他还强调了个人成长的重要性。 “始终通过阅读、收听播客和锻炼来锻炼自己。不要忘记对自己努力，如果不是比你的工作/事业更努力的话，”他说。 He also stresses the importance of personal growth. “Always continue working on yourself, by reading, listening to podcasts, and exercising. Do not forget to work as hard on yourself, if not harder, than your job/career,” he says.

像 Kim’s Convenience 和 Bollywed 这样的节目展示了移民在主流媒体中越来越多的代表性，以应对不断变化的加拿大景观。 2021 年的人口普查数据显示，移民占加拿大人口的 23%。印度成为加拿大新移民的主要出生地（占 2016-2021 年新移民的 18%）。 Shows like Kim’s Convenience and Bollywed demonstrate the growing representation of immigrants in mainstream media, in response to the changing Canadian landscape. Census data from 2021 revealed that immigrants make up 23 per cent of Canada. India took the top spot as the primary place of birth of new immigrants to Canada (18 per cent of recent immigrants from 2016-2021).

_ 您可以在 CBC Gem 网站上观看 Bollywed 。 _You can watch Bollywed on the CBC Gem website.

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