'Mrs' director reacts to 'toxic feminism' accusations
- By Web Desk -
- Feb 21, 2025
Indian film director Arati Kadav, of the recently released ‘Mrs’, breaks her silence on the accusations of promoting ‘toxic feminism’ via her film.
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In a new interview with an Indian publication, ‘Mrs’ director Arati Kadav addressed the ‘toxic feminism’ remarks of SIFF (Save Indian Family Foundation) – a pan-Indian men’s rights organization – who claimed that her film spreads toxicity through its exaggerated depiction of the usual house chores as ‘oppression’, in the name of feminism.
In her response, Kadav said, “I don’t believe this is toxic feminism. We didn’t depict men as evil; rather, we showed them as being blind to her struggles, unaware of her humanity. This is a reality I’m not exaggerating.”
She continued, “Even my own mother faced this. It’s only now that I realise, until five years ago, I would come home and say, ‘Mama, can’t you do this?’ I never stopped to ask her what she wanted or what her dreams were. What she wanted was always secondary to what I needed. We’ve become so accustomed to treating women as ‘functions’ rather than full, independent humans that it has been normalised. This isn’t toxic feminism.”
“The normalisation of the idea that women are only there to take care of the house and should never prioritise their own needs. Breaking that stereotype is crucial,” she emphasized. “I believe anyone who calls this toxic feminism should have a conversation with their mother to understand the struggles she’s faced in life.”
Reacting to the SIFF’s remarks that ‘women inherently believe workplace means a comfortable air-conditioned place and do not consider work at construction sites or at train stations etc. as potential workplaces’, Kadav added, “The difference is that they are paid for their labour. Just because there are other forms of exploitation in society doesn’t mean we should overlook what’s happening here. If men feel exploited in those jobs, that’s certainly not right, but it doesn’t diminish the issues women face.”
“It’s similar to saying ‘white lives matter’ when ‘black lives matter’ – both are valid, but they shouldn’t be used to dismiss each other,” she maintained.
Also Read: ‘Mrs’ actor ‘felt disgusted’ after watching the film
Notably, Arati Kadav’s ‘Mrs’ is the official Bollywood remake of the Malayalam language drama flick ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’, co-written by actor Harman Baweja and Anu Singh Choudhary.
Ever since its direct-to-OTT release earlier this month, the title has been sweeping acclaim all across, for its depiction of the woes faced by a housewife, who is stuck in a toxic marriage, before SIFF called out filmmakers and actor Sanya Malhotra for spreading toxicity.