Sanya Malhotra On Men Rights Group Slamming Mrs: 'Jaha Story Pahunchni Thi, Pahunch Gayi'

News18

5 hours ago

Sanya Malhotra has been widely praised for her performance in Mrs., where she portrays a woman quietly standing up against domestic patriarchy. Critics raved about her nuanced acting and how the film turns everyday household struggles into a powerful story of oppression. The film, a Hindi remake of The Great Indian Kitchen, also sparked backlash from certain men's groups, particularly the Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF), which accused it of pushing a one-sided feminist narrative.
Critics argued that the movie wrongly portrays household chores such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry as a form of oppression, suggesting that the protagonist's revolt was simply because she did not want to cook for her family after marriage. However, many viewers pushed back against this interpretation, clarifying that the film was never about rejecting domestic work itself but about the lack of freedom and choice given to women.
Opening up on it at CNN-News18 SheShakti 2025, Sanya reacted to that backlash. 'Problem yeh nahi hai ke khana nahin bana chahti hai. Woh khana bana rahi thi. Woh to saja ke bhi de rahi hai, with zero appreciation from the family. The problem arose when she wanted to do something, and she showed that family that I am capable of doing ghar ka kaam, and I want to go out and do something that I love to do. Aur woh usko karne nahin diya jaa raha, woh freedom nahin diya jaa rahi. Jinke paas story pahunchni thi wahan pahunch chuki hai (The problem isn't that she didn't want to cook. She was cooking, even serving it nicely, but getting zero appreciation from the family. The problem started when she wanted to do something else and showed the family that she is capable of managing the household and also wants to go out and pursue something she loves. But she wasn't allowed to do that — she wasn't given the freedom. The story has reached the people it needed to reach).
Before Mrs., Sanya had already enjoyed a great run with three back-to-back successes in Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery (2023), the blockbuster action drama Jawan (2023), and the war biopic Sam Bahadur (2023).
Looking ahead, she has a packed slate of projects. She will next be seen in Dharma Productions' romantic comedy Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, releasing on October 2, 2025, and in the quirky Netflix comedy Toaster opposite Rajkummar Rao. She has also reportedly signed on for an ambitious international action-comedy produced by Aagaaz Entertainment, directed by Kapil Sharma, as well as an intense thriller alongside Anurag Kashyap and Bobby Deol. Her upcoming film Bandar, directed by Anurag Kashyap, is set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2025.