Jeo Baby’s The Great Indian Kitchen (2021) was an eye-opening account of domestic drudgery. Through simple, unvarnished storytelling that harnessed the device of repetition, the acclaimed Malayalam film exploded the myth of the housewife who loves to cook, clean and keep house, showing instead that housework was a form of invisible, unpaid labour reinforced by traditional values.
The Hindi remake keeps The Great Indian Kitchen’s core idea intact while adding a few new touches. Arati Kadav’s Mrs, which is out on ZEE5, stars Sanya Malhotra as Richa, a dance teacher whose arranged marriage to Diwakar (Nishant Dahiya) turns out to be one long slog in the kitchen.
The statement “I like simple, home-cooked food” is like a life sentence for Richa. Diwakar and his father Ashwin (Kanwaljit Singh) don’t lift a finger. Encouraged to emulate her mother-in-law Meena (Aparna Ghosal), Richa finds herself living the proverb that a woman’s work is never done.
One clue to the big difference between the two movies is the casting of the conventionally attractive Sanya Malhotra as a submissive hausfrau with self-esteem issues. Nimisha Sajayan, who played the role in the Malayalam production, embodied the ordinary middle-class woman who has much to lose for rebelling against her husband’s diktats.
A smaller clue into why the Hindi remake is a tough sell is nestled in the closing credits. Mrs has a bunch of food stylists.
Why dress up the preparation of meals when this very act shackles Richa? Do we need loving top-angle views of dishes or a recipe for biriyani?
Comparisons with the source material, which is available on Prime Video and YouTube, are unavoidable. Glossy and pretty to look at, and with a better-appointed kitchen too, the remake does well to stick with the original’s unsparing attack on a traditional household.
Diwakar’s suaveness that conceals nastiness, Richa’s escalating despair, the unending nature of housework – these elements get an extra layer with an important, and fruitful, character expansion by writers Arati Kadav, Anu Singh Choudhary and Harman Baweja.
The father-in-law has a bigger role to play in Richa’s oppression. Ashwin is a passive-aggressive lord, crushing Richa ever so often with a well-aimed putdown or a patronising smile.
From insisting on hand-churned chutney to demanding hand-washed clothes, Ashwin knows how to keep his household’s women in their designated spots. Kanwaljit Singh’s performance is especially effective because of its subtlety and casualness.
Sanya Malhotra solidly brings out Richa’s agony, even though her luminosity gets in the way at times. The 111-minute movie begins with a dance number that showcases Malhotra’s excellent footwork.
While the radicalness of the original conceit is watered down, Mrs communicates the reality behind delicious hand-churned meals and elaborate preparations. It involves a woman bent over a flame or a sink, glorified as the perfect housewife but often no better than an unpaid maid.
Also read:
Why Malayalam breakout film ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ is ‘the story of most Indian women’
