‘Mrs.’ movie review: Sanya Malhotra powers this poignant ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ remake

Mrs. is a poignant Hindi remake of The Great Indian Kitchen, highlighting the suffocating patriarchy in traditional joint families.

Mrs. is a film that needed to be made. The Hindi remake of Jeo Baby’s Malayalam film The Great Indian Kitchenhits home just as much as the original, once again proving that irrespective of the milieu, patriarchy and how it is enforced is templated.

There are no drunkards or wife beaters in the lead character Richa’s (Sanya Malhotra) world, just a couple of ‘decent’ men — husband Diwakar Kumar, and her father-in-law, Ashwin Kumar (Kanwaljit Singh), who want fresh phulkas (“not rotis”), chutney made on the grindstone, clothes hand-washed and women who stay at home to do all this; the menfolk, meanwhile, don’t lift a finger. Ashwin proudly tells Richa that his wife has a PhD in economics but “chose to stay at home for the sake of the house and the kids.” That she wants a career, and that too as a dance teacher, is not taken seriously. It is simply not a ‘suitable’ enough option. That is perhaps when Richa realises she really does not have a choice.

Sanya Malhotra is superlative as Richa, her transformation from the ebullient new bride to someone who begins to understand the trap marriage could be is impressive. She lives the role, becoming Richa, and matches Nimisha’s portrayal of the wife in the original. Her plight and dilemma would resonate with most women who live or have lived as part of traditional joint families.

Nishant Dahiya as the gynaecologist Dr. Diwakar Kumar, oblivious to his wife’s needs and completely focussed on his father’s comfort, is suitably revulsion-inspiring. Most of the characters are relatable, regular folks with their casual misogyny and everyday toxicity.

Mrs. is a worthy remake of The Great Indian Kitchen, and director Arati Kadav brings in nuance because, perhaps, she is a woman. But to the Malayalam original’s credit, it took a man to make The Great Indian Kitchen. Mrs is more or less faithful to the original, with minor tweaks to, perhaps, fit the milieu the movie is located in. While Jeo’s telling is laced with a feminist’s outrage at the privilege men enjoy, Arati’s take brings home the sense of suffocation Richa feels. While Jeo’s film is hard-hitting and makes one angry, Mrs. leaves one with a heavy heart. As much as it is cautionary, it also gives women confidence to say ‘enough is enough’.

There is no exaggeration, the casualness of the misogyny and patriarchy of not just the men but also the women is stated matter-of-factly. The messaging is also that toxic behaviour does not necessarily mean violence, and that manipulation and gaslighting can be done by ‘decent’ folks too. In the original, the mother-in-law is an ally; in the remake she is less so.

Richa repeatedly asks Diwakar to call the plumber to repair the clogged and leaking sink, which he ‘forgets’ every time. When his aunt comes visiting, she insinuates that it is Richa’s failure.