Interview | Mrs actor Kanwaljit Singh says the film is not promoting toxic feminism: ‘Hum sirf aayna dikha rahe hain’ | Bollywood-OxBig News Network

In an interview with HT, actor Kanwaljit Singh- who plays Richa’s patriarchal father-in-law, Ashwin Kumar, sat down with us to talk about the impact of the film, the reaction of his own family and why he felt the need to apologize to Sanya after watching the film. (Excerpts)

‘He is an antithesis to what I am’

When asked whether his own family has watched the film, the actor said, “Yes! Both my sons have watched it! My wife also has watched it. They absolutely know that this is an antithesis to what I am. Of course, they were shocked a bit. But there’s nothing there that I can be ashamed of. Whatever I take on I am never ashamed of it and I never regret. I loved doing it. Especially because a lady director has directed it, so she has brought about a lot of nuances, sensibility and sensitivity, which I don’t think a man could have brought out.”

‘Hum log sudhrenge nahi!’

At the end of the film, Richa’s final decision to step out of her house- once and for all, has resonated with viewers. The actor reveals his reaction to reading that scene when he was approached with the script, saying: “We were quite enthusiastic about making this and the end, everything seemed right to me. The only thing is I did not want to see the original version, The Great Indian Kitchen, because whatever happens something lingers on your subconscious and then you kind of do that, which I did not want to. I wanted him to be absolutely different from what I had done before. This was absolutely the reaction that I would have liked to be. The vicious circle goes on… hum log sudhrenge nahi! Humare pe koi keechar bhi uchalega toh hum nahi sudhrenge (We are not going to change! Even if they throw the dirt on us still we will not change for the better)! That was the point!”

The actor says, “This is the only thing he probably saw his father and grandfather do… So the son has watched his father and grown up the same way. This is ingrained in our personalities. These are the genes that we are born with. We think we are absolutely right in doing so. Now, I come from a family of five, and my dad was a great liberal man. He used to make two cups of tea for my mother early morning and then my mother would start doing the house chores and then he would go to the office. I come from such a background. I used to come from a small town, and people used to wonder, ‘Ye sardar kaisa hain yaar!’ We were not exposed to this kind of behavior from parents or people. Except that when I went to friend’s house when I sensed something different, which do not happen in my house. In small towns, most of the houses are patriarchal.”

The actor revealed that he ended up apologizing to Sanya Malhotra after seeing the film at the premiere, because he was shocked to see how cruel his character was. “When we were doing the film I was too busy with other projects so I had forgotten everything about the film. The only thing I remembered was eating a lot! I had put on one and a half kilos of weight! Baith ke khaana hi khaana hain sara din. 10-15 din humne yahi kiya! Then when we were asked for the premiere, I saw the film and I was shocked! Maine kaha, ‘Bada zaalim aadmi hain yaar tu (He is such an evil man)!’ I had forgotten completely! It was not in my memory ki ye maine kiye hain scene aise (That this was in the scene)! Instinctively, I went up to Sanya and said, ‘I am very sorry.’ She was quite amused by my apology.”

Mrs’s success hasn’t been without controversy. Many also criticised the film for promoting a kind of ‘toxic feminism,’ to which Kanwaljit says, “We are not promoting anything. We are showing a mirror. Hum sirf aayna dikha rahe hain. Dekho, this is happening in the society. We have to do something about it. Woh kar rahe hain. Aur dekho that this is a vicious cycle. Ek toh chali jati hain keechad phek hain aur dusri ab aa gayi (She leaves after throwing the dirty water and then the second one arrives)! We must break that cycle.”

Mrs is available to watch on ZEE5.