Mrs.: A lone crusade against patriarchy

Mrs.: A lone crusade against patriarchy

Sanya Malhotra spearheads a lone crusade against dirty, deep-rooted patriarchy while straddling between drudgery of dishes and dancing dreams.

There is something striking about Sanya Malhotra. The characters that she depicts, besides being compelling, exude immense warmth and authenticity. A part of it is attributed to her spontaneity and confidence and a gay abandon that she embraces while sinking herself into the person she becomes.

She plays Richa, a passionate dancer who has an arranged marriage with a gynaecologist, Diwakar (Nishant Dahiya) from a family where patriarchal practices run deep. Women are treated as mere machines for fulfilling carnal appetite, relegated to household chores and raising children. Her father-in-law (Kanwaljeet Singh) would expect a detox drink and shoes by his bed when he wakes up every day, percolating this attitude to his son. The woman of the house (Aparna Ghoshal) would run the kitchen without depending on any house help.

Ladies in the house would be prohibited to perform cleaning or cooking during menstruation. Mixers are discouraged to grind spices as it doesn't do justice to the aroma. If rice is simmered with chicken in a cooker, its not Biryani – its Pulao! The men of the house subtly dismiss the nifty kitchen solutions – Phulkas, freshly inflated from the burner, are preferred to Rotis, Poha or Upma for breakfast. A washing machine cleaning is apparently less effective than a manual one, with 2 part lemon juice and 1 part baking soda preached as a magic formula by them, but not practised.

Director Arati Kadav induces an unmistakable functional construct while making Mrs embrace the soul and slate of its Malayalam original - Jeo Baby's The Great Indian Kitchen (TGIK). A flattering peek into the plethora of delicacies made in the kitchen (DoP: Pratham Mehta) and the associated euphoria form a perfect foil to Richa's inner turmoil, borne out of the daily drudgery and no emotional acknowledgement or respect. The barrage of expectations and insensitivity exhibited by Diwakar’s cousin(Varun Badola as Tunnu Bhaiya) and Bua (Lovleen Misra), on short visits, overwhelms her. When her resilience reaches a threshold, she retaliates!

The beats are strikingly familiar to TGIK, but co-writers Harman Baweja and Anu Singh Chaudhary make it relatable by employing the north-Indian nuances and sentiments in the narrative. So instead of Dosa and Sambar, you see Dum Biryani, Mutton and Phulkas and Sabjis. While relying on close-up shots, Kadav casts an uncompromising gaze on Richa's predicament. The filthy and leaking drainage pipe is a metaphorical reminder of their nuptial relationship, ceasing to mend. Because there is no point. There is sheer apathy from the husband to the teething issues that require concern – be it the kitchen or the desires of his woman. At one point, Richa outbursts at Diwakar about being so mechanical – Foreplay toh kar sakte ho !

There is an observant quality to Kadav. She imbues her characters with honesty and intensity. Diwakar is not an antagonist here, he is just a product of inherent and unrealized masculine ego. Dahiya renders an earnest performance as an insensitive husband who would demand an apology from his wife for passing a casual remark on his dining etiquettes in presence of their friends. 

Eschewing high-pitched drama, Mrs hits the right notes in justifying the lone crusade of its protagonist against the age-old societal pattern that’s so skewed towards the boys of a family and ceases to transform.

 

 

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