MUGs & Mrs: Kitchen patriarchy comes at a cost

Mar 9, 2025 | 15:29 IST

If Indian women were freed of the burden of making hot phulkas and elaborate meals, they can contribute so much more to the economy

Moral issues aside, the cost of Indian men demanding hot phulkas may have significantly impacted our GDP and contributed to India’s continued economic struggles

In these times of content overload, it is rare for a film to spark discussion around an issue and capture the viewer’s imagination. One recent film that did do so is ‘Mrs’, a remake of a 2021 Malayalam film ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’, written and directed by Jeo Baby.

For those who haven’t seen it (highly recommend that you do), the low-budget film tells the story of an Indian woman who marries into an educated family of doctors, only to find herself expected to cook elaborate meals using laborious traditional methods (think stone-ground chutneys without mixer-grinders), just as her mother-in-law has done for decades.

TOI

TOI

MUGs & Mrs: Kitchen patriarchy comes at a cost

Moral issues aside, the cost of Indian men demanding hot phulkas may have significantly impacted our GDP and contributed to India’s continued economic struggles

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TOI

MUGs & Mrs: Kitchen patriarchy comes at a cost

Moral issues aside, the cost of Indian men demanding hot phulkas may have significantly impacted our GDP and contributed to India’s continued economic struggles

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