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The official Hindi remake of the 2021 Malayalam film The Great Indian Kitchen, titled Mrs, released on Zee5 on February 7. Sanya Malhotra played the lead role in the Hindi adaptation. Nimisha Sajayan was her counterpart in the Malayalam original. Both the actresses played the roles with empathy and sensitivity. But if one has watched the original film before the Hindi adaptation, one will surely miss the "rage" of Jeo Baby (director of The Great Indian Kitchen) in its Hindi adaptation.
In an exclusive interview with News Agency, Mrs director Arati Kadav opens up about her distinct approach of storytelling, why she didn't show Jeo Baby's rage in her version, and the future of women-driven films in India.
'Richa Is Mellow, Lots Of Women Are Mellow'
When we ask Arati Kadav if she had to tone down the anger of Richa (played by Sanya Malhotra), which was more tangible in the Malayalam original, Arati tells us that Richa's portrayal is a reflection of her own personality.
"I am a huge fan of the original film. But Jeo Baby's personality might be strong. It's a reflection of his personality that made the storytelling effective. I am not so strong. Neither is Richa [Sanya Malhotra's character in Mrs]," says Arati Kadav.
"Richa is mellow. A lot of other women are also mellow. In the Malayalam film, Nimisha (who played Sreedevi in The Great Indian Kitchen), throws glass. Richa doesn't. Because she's conditioned in a way that her anger is also 'timid'. So, here, you won't feel the anger. You feel like rescuing the girl. A lot of women told me that they felt like rescuing Richa," Arati adds.
The Great Indian Kitchen and Mrs are both a poignant tale of a young woman, who is stuck in the drudgery of household chores as she's been married into an orthodox family. Neither her husband, nor her in-laws realise how she tries hard to fit in the new set-up, choking her aspirations and dreams every day.
News Agency asks Arati Kadav what differences she has encountered when a woman's story is told by a man and a woman's story is told by a woman.
Reflecting on the ideas of gender expectations, Arati says, "When a man tells a woman's story, he is absorbing the reality from a distance. Jeo Baby is a sensitive man. He could write and tell the story effectively. But for me, there's no distance. I have to be in Richa's shoe in every scene of the film. You can see how Richa is excited about getting married, how she sees the world around her, how she tries to please everyone. In her aspirations, we make the story more personal."
'Sanya Malhotra Has A Child-Woman Quality'
When we ask Arati what made her choose Sanya Malhotra as her Richa, the director says, "Sanya has a child-woman quality and sweetness to her. Richa's character is sweet. She is a nice person. I think you feel like rooting for her, you feel like good things always happen to her."
Richa is shown as a trained dancer who has her troupe in the film.
"Sanya Malhotra is a great dancer; that's another reason for choosing her," says Arati.
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In real life too, Sanya was a dance teacher in schools before she took up acting as a profession.
Women-Driven Films In Theatres
Girls Will Be Girls, Laapataa Ladies, Mrs - a common thread among these films is that they gain more traction on OTT platforms.
Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies did have a theatrical release before coming to an OTT platform. But it didn't gain much box-office traction with its theatrical release.
News Agency asks Arati if her film could have released in theatres.
"The issue with theatrical release is nobody knows what's going to work. I am very happy that films like 12th Fail surpassed industry expectations and did so well. Actually, the theatrical release changes with every season in the industry. The larger understanding is that male-centric masala films work well in theatres," Arati tells News Agency.
At a time when star-driven films are falling flat in theatres, can the industry push such women-led films for a theatrical release?
Responding to this, Arati says, "I think the audience should slightly be more open to watching such films in theatres, rather than waiting for them to show up on OTT platforms."
Mrs was a direct OTT release. It is currently streaming on Zee5. Apart from Sanya Malhotra, Nishant Dahiya, Kanwaljeet Singh and Loveleen Mishra play pivotal roles in the film.