Earlier this year, two films featuring star kids were all over social media. Rasha Thadani (Ravina Tandon’s daughter) strut her stuff with her “Uyi amma” moves, and Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor (children of Aamir Khan and Sridevi, respectively) taught their Loveyapa moves, the former rather awkwardly, to overenthusiastic internet personalities identifying themselves as journalists. However, despite the publicity blitzkrieg, both films sank without a whimper at the box office. Amid all this, a film quietly released on an OTT platform, starring an industry outsider, helmed by a first-time director, and preceded by nothing but a simple trailer that did not prepare you for what was going to hit you. And people have, well, not stopped talking since.
No prizes for guessing that the film is Sanya Malhotra-starrer Mrs, stoically documenting the life of a modern-day housewife silently bearing all that comes with the territory until she no longer can. And she lets her uncaring husband, and entitled father-in-law, know this with quite a splash (If you know, you know).
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The film seems to have rattled many — from “men’s rights activist” groups accusing it of potentially ruining family lives to the original “rebel kid” Kangana Ranaut who said, “growing up, I never saw a woman who didn’t command her household”. Then there are those who had already seen the OG, The Great Indian Kitchen, and opined that the Hindi remake was not real, grimy, political enough.
Amid all this, it is the lead actor Sanya Malhotra — many argue she did not get her due in the industry despite a sparkling debut — who may be quietly smiling to herself. This is her moment to shine.
One may think that Mrs is a sanitised version of The Great Indian Kitchen but once you watch it, ideally without having watched the original, Mrs hits you like nothing may have in a long time.
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Who could have thought that the seemingly “normal” act of the woman of the house getting you hot phulkas (not rotis, mind it), as is her “duty”, can soon evolve into a bloodless rebellion like the one shown in the film?
Despite not being somebody’s wife, the film made me question how I may have unwittingly taken my mother’s unpaid labour for granted. Sure, we have a cook, but can’t I pack my tiffin myself? That cup of tea that I crave at different points in the day, can’t I make it myself? My mother was away when I watched the film and was pleasantly surprised to see me proactively looking after myself, 37 years after she brought me into this world, when she came back.
But my hope that maybe some men, if #notallmen, would have a change of heart, I was proven wrong. Go to the comments sections of any article or post about the film and you will be not-so-pleasantly surprised to know that most men, and way too many women, seemed to have missed the bus on what the film wanted to convey.
“Will the women help the men in their office work” was the sum and summary of many of those comments. It was evident they had not seen the film in which the woman explicitly wanted to work, without compromising on her “household responsibilities”, but was forbidden from doing so.
“My dadi said, ‘Do logon ka khaana banaane mei maut aa rahi hai’” went one meme. But Richa, the protagonist, was happy to serve her family. All she wanted was some appreciation and acknowledgement and not to be made to feel worthless about spending hours in the kitchen making biryani, only for it to be dismissed as pulao by her father-in-law.
But amid all this noise, the comments that still managed to grab my attention were the ones by women who saw themselves in Richa. “I am a working woman and bring home the bacon but still my mother-in-law treated me in the most cruel manner,” went one comment. Another talked about how the film reminded her of herself before she decided that she needed to prioritise her happiness.
Men’s right activists can relax: No film has the power to destroy your family. It is you, with your insensitive and entitled ways, who may be quietly doing so. But yes, if it makes men a little bit aware of their toxicity and inspires women to stand up for themselves, what is the harm?
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Perhaps, knowing no matter how one tries to enlighten or sensitise them, some men will never change, the film does not show Richa’s husband being hit by a great realisation in the end and mending his ways. He quietly gets a moustache, and another obedient, subservient wife, and the show goes on.
Thankfully, for Richa, she doesn’t care anymore. She is in no mood to exact revenge or to teach her husband a lesson. Having made her point loud and clear, she moves on. To become the best version of herself, to buy herself some flowers and to finally chase her dreams, but not before giving a small lecture on feminism (ok, equal rights) to her parents.
For me, this was the biggest takeaway: To choose yourself. And live well. As they say, it is the best revenge.
deepika.singh@expressindia.com
