Richa, an educated dancer, finds herself in an arranged marriage to Diwakar, a doctor in a very traditional and patriarchal family. While her domestic routine begins in the sweet bliss of a new marriage, things begin to go south. The drudgery of the kitchen and its many unpleasantries — cleaning, utensils and leaking taps — are left to the women while the men mostly indulge themselves with their phone or yoga. The family is so patriarchal that her mother-in-law hands the toothbrush to the father-in-law, while he is lounging by the verandah. The men eat their meals first and leaves the place a mess without concern for how the women can eat food after them. Despite her initial adjustments to the duties of the kitchen, little does Richa know that the real trouble would begin once her mother-in-law is compelled to leave for some time.
Diwakar's attitude towards Richa has also slowly begun to change; while he once adored her for her "kitchen smell", he ignores her pleas for repair work in the kitchen and later, when forcibly trying to have sex with her in order to get her pregnant, he rebuffs her demands for intimacy. Her father-in-law forbids her from finding employment, citing that a woman in the house brings prosperity to the family. When she gets her periods, she is appalled to discover that the family's beliefs regarding menstruation are extremely regressive, but enjoys her time alone. She is left alone to handle guests, their backhanded patriarchal comments and the trauma of being away from all her life used to be.
Shortly after Diwakar asks her to delete her dance videos from her social media accounts, Richa wonders if being in this marriage is worth it. During a birthday party for her father-in-law, she eventually broods over the burden of it and finally decides to avenge the trauma by serving guests the dirty leakage water from the kitchen sink as a beverage. Diwakar strides towards the kitchen in anger with his father right behind him, only for Richa, who is ready with the bucket of leakage water, to fling it onto Diwakar in frustration as she storms out of the house without the guests noticing, implying she would divorce him. The film ends with a scene showing Richa as an independent dance teacher portraying her pains through a dance routine while Diwakar is married again and the second wife seems happy to serve them, blissfully unaware of the horrors that await her.[4]
Mrs. is a remake of the 2021 Malayalam film The Great Indian Kitchen by Jeo Baby. Director Arati Kadav initially felt hesitant about remaking such a beloved film, but felt compelled to retain its essence while making it accessible to North Indian audiences informed by her personal experiences.[5][6] Arati Kadav and co-writer Harman Baweja aimed to adapt the story for a North Indian sensibility, drawing from their lived experiences and cultural nuances, and conducting interviews with young married women to inform the screenplay.[7]
Filming
The film was shot entirely in a single location, which contributed to the intense emotional immersion of the narrative for both cast and crew. Especially as the Director used the linear shooting sequence.[8]
Themes
Critics situate Mrs within a feminist critique of the gendered division of unpaid domestic labour and the everyday operation of patriarchy in the household; recurring images of food preparation and a leaking kitchen sink are framed as metaphors for monotony and the emotional erosion of marital life.[9][10]
The film renders misogyny largely through microaggressions and "invisible abuse"—the trivialisation of the protagonist Richa's aspirations, emotional neglect, and the denial of autonomy—rather than overt physical violence.[11][12][13] While broadly faithful to The Great Indian Kitchen, commentators observe that Mrs relocates the story to urban North India and trims the original's specific religio-social texture; ritual prescriptions such as Karwa Chauth festival remain, but the wider commentary on religious patriarchy is comparatively muted.[9][14][10]
Several critics also read the film through the lens of marital intimacy and consent, pointing to depictions of "mechanical" sex and a husband whose professional knowledge of women contrasts with sexist behaviour at home.[15][16] Another recurrent theme in criticism is the curtailment of the protagonist's artistic ambitions by unpaid care work and family expectations, including demands from in-laws, which restrict her mobility and employment plans.[17][14] Coverage in Indian and international media situates these themes within a wider debate on household labour and gender roles; while praised as a timely feminist critique, the film also drew pushback from men's groups, further fuelling public discourse on patriarchy and domesticity.[16][18]
The music of the film is composed by Sagar Desai and Faizan Hussain while lyrics are written by Neeraj Pandey, Arun Kumar, Pallavi Bhardwaj Hussain, and Arun Kumar.[19]
Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV rated the film 3/5 stars and observed that "Sanya Malhotra lives the role and director Arati Kadav orchestrates her resources with striking efficiency."[26]Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com rated 4/5 stars and notes "Mrs. succeeds in riling you up for all the right reasons. And without resorting to high-pitched drama."[27]Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave 3 stars out of 5 and said that "For those who haven't watched the Malayalam original, this Sanya Malhotra-starrer has enough merit. This is just the kind of film, with a clutch of effective performances and important messaging, which should be made mandatory viewing for couples."[28] A critic for Bollywood Hungama rated the film 3 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Mrs. is a faithful remake and is laced with yet another memorable performance by Sanya Malhotra."[29]
Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in said that about the film that "Mrs. communicates the reality behind delicious hand-churned meals and elaborate preparations. It involves a woman bent over a flame or a sink, glorified as the perfect housewife but often no better than an unpaid maid."[30] Sana Farzeen of India Today gave 3.5 stars and writes in her review that "Mrs. is an unsettling reflection of a reality many women silently endure, making it an important watch. While it may not fully capture the unfiltered rawness of The Great Indian Kitchen, it still delivers a gut-wrenching portrayal of systemic patriarchy. " [31] Film Critic Sucharita Tyagi praises the film, saying, "Mrs. is too faithful a remake. Barring some (ineffective) song and dance, every beat is nearly identical to the original. Even if one hasn't watched Jeo Baby's film, the Bollywood sheen, texture, and overall voice in Mrs. is so overwhelming and complete in, one can pretty accurately predict where each scene is headed."[32]
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