Director Arati Kadav’s adaptation of ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ is equally gripping like the original. Arati brings in small but significant changes like the profession of its male protagonist.
Mrs (Hindi), 07-02-2025, Drama, 1 hour 51 minutes, 13+, OTT
- Main Cast: Sanya Malhotra, Kanwaljit Singh, and Nishant Dahiya
- Director: Aarti Kadav
- Producer: Harman Baweja and Pammi Baweja
- Music Director: Sagar Desai, and Faizan Hussain
- Cinematography: Pratham Mehta
- Rating: 3.5/5
Jeo Baby’s The Great Indian Kitchen released in 2021 was a very impactful movie on internalised patriarchy. The movie focused on the lives of the women who manage our homes, the category whom we take for granted.
These women constantly put the needs of the men above their dreams relegating themselves to the kitchen. Through the story of newly married women finally breaking out of conventions, Jeo Baby held a mirror to society.
What added to the impact of The Great Indian Kitchen was also the terrific Nimisha Sajayan.
Before Mrs, The Great Indian Kitchen was remade into Tamil with another equally good actress Aishwarya Rajesh. Now you have the Hindi adaptation with the talented young actress Sanya Malhotra.
Synopsis
For those who aren’t familiar with the source material, Mrs focuses on a newlywed woman Richa (an excellent Sanya Malhotra). Nishant Dahiya takes over from Suraj Venjaramoodu, but in this movie, the profession of the male character is changed as is the setting.
Nishant Dahiya plays a gynaecologist, this adds an interesting layer something which I will touch upon later. Coming back to Mrs, Richa has a passion for dancing, she wants to make a career out of it but the role of a traditional housewife starts taking a toll. This is the story in brief.
The best part of Mrs is how Arati Kadav showcases internalized patriarchy using the kitchen and the constant cooking of food as a metaphor.
The kitchen in Mrs is more modern in comparison to the one showcased in The Great Indian Kitchen. There are more windows and also shiny appliances but the drudgery of the main character is the same.
The clash between the old and new ways has been represented wonderfully by Arati Kadav. A striking aspect of the kitchen is that although the structure here is more modern the dripping of dirty water is constant.
Just like The Great Indian Kitchen there are numerous cooking shots of the same nature but these are necessary as it gives the viewers a psychological insight.
Characterisation
The characterization of Sanya Malhotra coupled with her acting is another backbone of the movie. Richa is someone who starts as a lively young girl wanting to do something with her life, the initial days of her marriage flow smoothly but soon she gets stuck in a depressing cycle of pleasing her husband and father-in-law.
How this starts affecting her and the moment where she decides that enough is enough has come out wonderfully both in the writing done by Harman Baweja, and Anu Singh Choudhary along with Sanya Malhotra’s act.
Many young girls would connect to Richa’s dreams and cheer for her when she finally decides not to succumb to the vicious cycle of patriarchy.
Internalized patriarchy
As a society, the issue of internalized patriarchy looms large however modern people pretend to be. The theme of internalized patriarchy also comes out in the scenes between the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law.
When Richa complains about being overworked, the other woman responds with a dismissive attitude saying ‘Yeh Sab toh Sikna Hoga (You have to learn this)’
As already mentioned director Arati Kadav brings in small but significant changes. The profession of Nishant Dahiya’s character adds an interesting contrast to his behaviour while doing his job and how he is as a husband.
There are scenes of Diwakar trying to force himself on Richa not caring whether she also wants to participate in that particular moment. There is a very mechanical process adopted by Diwakar with no foreplay and build-up.
Again through these scenes, Arati Kadav makes a strong comment on the general attitude of misogynistic men.
Performances and technical aspects
Apart from Sanya Malhotra’s brilliant act, both Nishant Dahiya and Kanwaljit Singh also make a strong impact. Nishant Dahiya is completely convincing as a doctor who pretends to be outwardly respectable but is actually regressive. Kanwaljit Singh is also exceptional in making the viewers hate him.
The songs and the background score though leave something to be desired. Both these aspects stick out like a sore thumb in an otherwise powerful movie.
Final take
The last word, Mrs is highly recommended even for those who love The Great Indian Kitchen. The film is now streaming on Zee5.
(Views expressed here are personal, edited by Sumavarsha)
