Sanya Malhotra’s latest film, Mrs, was released earlier this week. The film, a remake of the Malayalam cult classic The Great Indian Kitchen, is currently garnering love from fans. But many have been comparing it to the original, too. The film’s director, Arati Kadav, tells HT in a candid chat that ‘there’s no way to win this’. Admitting that The Great Indian Kitchen was ‘a tough act to follow’, Arati explains what prompted her to remake the beloved film. (Also read: Mrs director Arati Kadav admits omitting crew’s name from trailer was ‘a lapse’, glad it was ‘rectified immediately’)
Arati Kadav on remaking The Great Indian Kitchen
Talking about her motivations for making this story, the filmmaker says, “I felt that this story needs to be set in North India and reach a larger audience. This film is so relevant for North India. I felt they needed to see it. I wanted my mother to see The Great Indian Kitchen, but when she was watching, it was only for 15-20 minutes. They’re not used to subtitles, and so I told her I made this for you only.”
Remaking a story that has been loved by millions is not easy because the filmmaker needs to find a way to own the film. “Something in the story should work for me at a very personal level for me to want to make it. There were things in the story that I thought were part of my life, my mother’s life. I can pull in from my personal life and add to the film things that speak to many women,” says Arati.
‘Patriarchy still exists’
She reveals that she interviewed many young married women about their lives and dreams before making this film. “Some of those meetings were very cathartic,” says Arati, recalling one particular incident, “One specific girl I met was 10 years younger than me and had the same problems that I had. It was a very honest meeting. She broke down, and I also broke down. I started wondering, ‘How can a girl who is 10 years younger than me feel that?’ We feel these were problems for our mothers and must have diluted by now. But patriarchy is still there.”
The director says she has faced the same patriarchy in her professional life – the film world as well. She candidly says, “If there’s a male director, they will be treated much differently. There’s a lot of dismissal of my POV and my ideas, even in a group setting. I’m also a slightly mild person. Every time I’m in a room with a lot of men, I have to really earn my voice. I had to literally make short films till I convinced them that she could make a feature. So it is a slow and steady kind of process.”
Written by Harman Baweja and Anu Singh Choudhary, Mrs is an adaptation of Jeo Baby’s The Great Indian Kitchen. The film stars Sanya Malhotra, Kanwaljit Singh, and Nishant Dahiya. It is streaming on Zee5.
Leave a Reply