Mrs Review: A Stirring Tale of Marriage, Sacrifice, and Patriarchy

Mrs Review: A Stirring Tale of Marriage, Sacrifice, and Patriarchy - Filmsandfacts

Director: Arati Kadav

Date Created: 2025-02-07 11:33

Editor's Rating:
3.5

Pros

• Sanya Malhotra’s Performance: A deeply moving and nuanced portrayal of a woman losing herself in societal expectations.
• Sharp Social Commentary: The film effectively highlights everyday patriarchy and the struggles of women in traditional households.
• Seamless Storytelling: The gradual buildup to Richa’s breaking point is realistic and impactful.
• Visually Striking Symbolism: The contrast between perfectly plated meals and the hidden labor behind them reinforces the film’s theme.
• Powerful Ending: The climax delivers a strong, thought-provoking message that lingers long after the credits roll.

Cons

• Predictable Narrative: The storyline closely follows The Great Indian Kitchen, offering little surprise for those familiar with the original.
• Slow Pacing: The film takes its time unfolding, which may test the patience of some viewers.
• Limited Character Depth for Supporting Roles: The male characters, particularly Diwakar, could have been explored further to add more complexity.
• Repetitive Scenes: Some moments, especially those depicting household chores, feel prolonged and redundant.
• Could Have Pushed Further: While impactful, the film could have explored additional layers of Richa’s internal struggles and dreams.

Mrs Review

A young woman who just got married is trying to live up to the unrealistic expectations of her new husband. She doesn’t know it, but by doing so, she is giving up her dream of becoming a professional dancer.

There are plans for Richa (Sanya Malhotra) and Diwakar (Nishant Dahiya) to get married, but when they meet, sparks fly. After she gets married, Richa does what she’s supposed to do and starts cooking fancy meals for her new mother-in-law. In the morning, her father-in-law (Kanwaljit Singh) and his wife eat a freshly made breakfast at the table while the women serve them hot rotis from the kitchen.

At the end of the day, there are a lot of dirty dishes in the sink that the women have to wash. Her father-in-law seems to spend most of his time reading or going for walks. On the other hand, Diwakar, who works as a gynecologists’, spends a lot of time at his office or playing squash to relax.

As the days go by, the kitchen seems to always have something to say. Her father-in-law is very strict about not eating restaurant food at home, which strangely doesn’t apply to women who are on their periods. When Richa’s mother-in-law has to go on vacation for a few months, she is carefully shown how to do everything in the kitchen and then given the job.

The men of the house look at her with disapproval and grunt because the food or something else isn’t up to their standards. So Richa takes them on with all her heart. As time goes on, she starts to feel trapped in a place where no one cares about how tired or stressed she is. She finds she has left her passion for dance far behind in her quest to make perfect meals when her friends start calling to check on her. There is no one to help her or listen to her.

In addition, her husband’s sudden change in behaviour from loving and sweet to rude; a sink that leaks all the time and makes the kitchen a mess; and the general male-centeredness of the family start to bother her.

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The original remake of Jeo Baby’s Malayalam film The Great Indian Kitchen (2021), directed by Arati Kadav, is called “Mrs.” The film got great reviews from all critics. “Mrs.” has the same plot as the original, but it changes some cultural references, like adding Karwa Chauth, to make the point more clear. The story quietly shows how relationships change over time, how power works in traditional families, and how deep-seated patriarchy affects everyone, regardless of gender.

There are a lot of pictures of perfectly cooked meals being delicately put out on the table. These pictures look very different from the path that your sweat, toil, and often filth makes. The buildup to Richa’s final confrontation, in which her marriage to her husband ends totally, is seamless, with each emotion showing how angry she is getting.

With a performance that is full of subtleties, Sanya Malhotra makes Richa’s story very real. With ease, she shows a young wife with hopes in her heart and stars in her eyes who is slowly being worn down by the daily tasks of running the household, dealing with unrealistic expectations, and letting her goals fall by the wayside. The beseeching look in her eyes says a lot. Kanwaljit Singh is always reliable, and Nishant Dahiya does a great job as Diwakar with all of his different sides.

If you haven’t seen the first movie, you need to watch “Mrs.” Especially for the moving, powerful, and thought-provoking way it tells the story of how everyday patriarchal and social rules ignore women’s needs, wants, and desires.