Sanya Malhotra’s latest film ‘Mrs’ has opened up a discourse over its subject. The film encourages a discussion on society’s expectations from married women to devote their lives to taking care of the house. Several viewers have lauded the film for its treatment of the subject. Meanwhile, recently, SIFF (Save Indian Family Foundation), took to X and issued a long statement criticising the film. They questioned how ‘a happy young woman cooking food, doing dishes and pressing clothes of her father-in-law is oppression for her.’ Following this, the film’s producer, Harman Baweja addressed the criticism in a conversation with News18.

Taking to X, the men’s rights NGO, SIFF, posted a lengthy note bashing ‘Mrs’ for ‘toxic feminism.’ They wrote, “What stress does a woman feel, while chopping vegetables and cooking food on a gas stove or doing dishes wearing gloves? Zero, Nothing. In fact, cooking is like a meditation. Is it highly stressful to press cloths or do laundry in a washing machine?”

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What stress does a woman feel, while chopping vegetables and cooking food on a gas stove or doing dishes wearing gloves? Zero, Nothing.

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In fact, cooking is like a meditation.

Is it highly stressful to press cloths or do laundry in a washing machine?

— SIFF – Save Indian Family Foundation (@realsiff) February 12, 2025

During his conversation with News18, Harman Baweja expressed that their comments do not infuriate him. “I’m way past the infuriated stage now. It will take a lot to infuriate me. Maybe, that section of men is looking at this film as a solution and saying that this is the exactly representation of all men, which isn’t necessarily the truth. If a film has a male and female character, it doesn’t mean all men and women are like that. Every house is unique. The fragrance, the etiquette and the way food is served in every household will be different.”

He noted that not everyone would relate to the film, but the makers wanted to evoke empathy for Sanya’s character. “It’s important to not look at the film in isolation. We need to understand that Mrs is the story of a particular woman and a lot of women relate to parts of it. There may also be those – who I would think belongs to evolved households – who don’t relate to the film but understand it because they’ve seen it happening with their mothers. That’s the lens one needs to view the film with.”

Moreover, Harman also responded to SIFF’s comment that men and women should not share equal parts of the household work. For context, SIFF argued that men should never share “50% housework, because 70-80% material, cloths, furniture and gadgets are craved by women and enjoyed by women.” Deliberating on the comment, the producer talked about his equation with his wife Sasha Ramchandani. He said “I’ve a different perspective on it. The essence of the film is to respect each other for what we bring to the table. I love and respect my wife and she loves and respects me for what I bring to the table. We’ve just had two kids and her hands are full.”

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Harman added, “And she’s a health coach. If I’ve to come in at some point when she has got back-to-back calls, I’ll do that. The same goes for her. If I’ve a hard day at work and she puts food on the table for me, I’ll appreciate it. It will become a problem if she has to do it for me out of no choice. But if she’s doing it out of love for me, I’ll happily take it. I remember baking a cake for her three years back and it was the worst cake I ever baked. But she talks about it fondly even today. Appreciating each other’s efforts cuts across everything in life.”

Following Harman’s conversation with the outlet, SIFF posted a note on X lashing out at the producer.

Sanya Malhotra’s ‘Mrs’ premiered on Zee 5 on February 7.