EXCLUSIVE: Harman Baweja ECSTATIC with response to Sanya Malhotra-starrer Mrs; BREAKS silence on allegations that the film is 'anti-men': "I am not shocked by it; I wanted to start a conversation…the film was not made to BASH anyone"

Harman Baweja is on cloud nine as his production, Mrs, has turned out to be a huge success. Starring Sanya Malhotra in the lead, the film dropped on Zee5 on February 7 and ever since, it has amassed a huge number of views. The response is unanimously positive but a small section of the audience had reservations over its content. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Harman spoke about all these aspects and a lot more.

How has the feedback been for Mrs? The feedback has been overwhelming. The very essence of why I set out to make Mrs was that I wanted to make an ‘active film’. My team used to always ask me what it meant. It means that I want this film to have a conversation after its release. I didn’t want it to be one of those films where you say ‘Acchi thi, chalo ab kuch khaate hai, shaam ko wahan jaana hai’. The idea is that this film should start a healthy conversation. I could see that happening whether it's on social media with friends. A friend messaged me, ‘This is what people are talking about Mrs in a group full of doctors’. I have received several such messages. So, you know that it’s caught on big time. Ultimately, I like to make films like these – films that entertain and at the same time, people can also take home something from it. Sometimes, you expect a film to pan out in a certain way and then it doesn’t. With Mrs, the response has been more than what I had expected.

Mrs is directed by Arati Kadav, whose film Cargo (2020) was in a very different space. What made you sign her? I was totally taken in by the original version, The Great Indian Kitchen (2021). I saw it during COVID time, just 4-5 months after my marriage. And I saw this film with my wife and also my sister. The water was placed near them and normally, I would have asked them ‘Can you pass me water?’. But as I was watching this film, it had an effect on me and I hesitated. I got up, drank water and also offered them (laughs). It wouldn’t have bothered them if I had asked them for water at all. But it just makes you realize that we might think that we are very evolved. But we are not. There's room for improvement and to have more love and respect for each other.

I needed this essence to come out. The film is an adaptation. Just making it the same way as the original was not required as that film does its job phenomenally well. Hence, we had to move and add something to the story’s essence. I met a lot of directors. There was a time when every time someone would ask in my office ‘Where is Harman’, the answer would be ‘He’s talking to a director about remaking’. It became an obsession! Finally, when I interacted with Arati, I could see the honesty in her, though as you rightly said, her previous film was very different. Also, she got the essence of the film.

Sanya Malhotra is very good in the film but special mention should also go to Nishant Dahiya. His casting is apt. Also, we have never seen Kanwaljit Singh in such a role. For the first time, you hate him… I was clear that for the role of a father, we don’t want an actor who looks very strong. Unko dekh ke lagna chahiye ki yeh toh bada accha aadmi hai. Kanwaljit ji has decades of acting experience but he’s always played the affable and lovable character. The whole anti-casting of having him in the film was what I was looking for as you could never guess that he could be vicious. Same with Nishant; he has a charming personality. Also, it’s not that they are the villains. They are also the victims. Everyone from their point of view feels that they are doing nothing wrong but they are conditioned to think in a certain way. The actors had to do justice to that aspect.

Obviously, it goes without saying that Sanya is phenomenal. Uske baare mein main jitna bolunga, utna kam hai. I always told her, ‘You are respected as a good actor, but Mrs will catapult you to another level’.

Meanwhile, on Twitter, a section of netizens is outraged with Mrs. They call it an ‘anti-men’ movie. Some of them have taken it upon themselves to defend the film as well from these attacks. Are you shocked by this criticism? Not at all. That is why this film is made. I wanted to start a conversation and it’ll only be fruitful when there’s a point of view. If I tell you, ‘This wall is beautiful’ and you reply, ‘Yes, indeed’, the conversation ends then and there. I need a perspective. If I say, ‘This wall is beautiful’ and you say ‘True but yeh colour thoda zyada ho gaya’. I reply, ‘Nahin yeh colour toh correct hai’. Now, there’s a conversation!

There’s a section of the audience which is saying what they are saying. The beauty of the internet is that everyone has a voice, whether it's believers or non-believers or those with different perspectives. It's being heard and that is great. As I said earlier, Diwakar (Nishant Dahiya) and his family don’t know better. It's not that they are at fault. It's just the conditioning. That cannot change with a film. It’ll change with time. The film was not made to bash anyone. I am a guy and you are a guy. We love our mothers, sisters, partners, female friends and female relatives. It's just about extending that love and respect and understanding them better. The idea of the film is that if you could respect me for what I bring to the table, I am okay doing everything for you.

Daya Ben Jaisi Mahilaon ke karan hi aaj parivar Sambhalta hai . pic.twitter.com/ojJDvvLaX6 — Byomkesh (@byomkesbakshy) February 14, 2025

A tweet has gone viral where Richa (Sanya Malhotra) is compared to Dayaben from Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah and how she never complained while cooking food for her hubby and father-in-law! But the good part is due to all these posts, Mrs is being talked about…

Yes, the conversation is on the table. We all have a point of view and we have different stories. We can have twin brothers married to twin sisters and I promise you that their individual households will be unique. Effectively, one film cannot be a common denominator for all families. Some people saw the film and commented, ‘This is not my house. This is wrong’. But then it’s not about your house or my house. It’s a story about that family. Can you relate parts of that film to understand it better? That’s the idea. Can you say ‘This is not my family’? Absolutely not! It can’t be. It's not your family. If it was, it would have been shot in your house (laughs).

One more criticism that has come up is why there was no servant at the house at night. After all, Diwakar’s family was affluent and could have afforded round-the-clock help in fact… From a narrative perspective, I can tell you that unless the family has a maharaj, they don’t like anybody else entering their kitchen as it’s considered a very sacrosanct place. And as I said, this was a story of the family that Richa married into. That was her world.

Also Read: Mrs. producer Harman Baweja reacts to SIFF claims about boycotting Sanya Malhotra as they say, “What stress does a woman feel, while chopping vegetables and cooking food on a gas stove or doing dishes wearing gloves?”

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