In a series of social media posts earlier this week, SIFF aka Save Indian Family Foundation – a pan-Indian men’s rights organization – called out the film’s makers and actor Sanya Malhotra for spreading toxicity and for the exaggerated depiction of the usual house chores as ‘oppression’, in the name of feminism.
“Men work 8-9 hours at construction sites, railway stations, airports, factories, courts, police stations, restaurants, country’s borders, and a happy young woman cooking food, doing dishes and pressing clothes of her father-in-law is oppression for her,” read the post by SIFF on X.
Sanya Malhotra’s ‘Mrs’ accused of toxic feminism.
The organization added, “Women inherently believe, that a work workplace means a comfortable air-conditioned place. They do not consider work at construction sites train stations etc potential workplaces. They also do not consider that even working in AC can be quite stressful and depressing. What stress does a woman feel, while chopping vegetables and cooking food on a gas stove or doing dishes wearing gloves? Zero, Nothing.”
Sanya Malhotra’s film ‘Mrs’ breaks Google record
And maintained, “In fact, cooking is like a meditation. Is it highly stressful to press clothes or do laundry in a washing machine?”
“Men should never share 50% of housework,” they asserted in the end. “Because 70-80% of material, clothes, furniture, and gadgets are craved by women and enjoyed by women. Even children are 2-3 times more useful for women than men in old age or at any stage. Why should men do 50% of housework then? Men also do unpaid work like fixing things, driving, unpaid bodyguard, and luggage coolie. Men should not do more than 20-25% of housework to maintain proper equality.”
The comments did not sit down well with thousands of netizens, who came out in support of Malhotra and defended the film’s realistic plot and the actor’s stellar portrayal of protagonist Richa.
Moreover, film producer Harman Baweja also defended the project and clarified that the portrayal of men and women in the film does not apply to everyone, as every family and household is different. “It’s important to not look at the film in isolation. We need to understand that Mrs is the story of a particular woman and a lot of women relate to parts of it,” he said. “The essence of the film is to respect each other for what we bring to the table.”
Notably, director Aarti Kadav’s ‘Mrs’ is the official Bollywood remake of the Malayalam language drama flick ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’, co-written by Baweja and Anu Singh Choudhary.
After being premiered at multiple film festivals last year, ‘Mrs’ was released directly on the OTT, earlier this month.
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