Filmmaker Arati Kadav feels “extremely grateful and happily surprised by the response” her film Mrs. has been receiving. However, the film’s success hasn’t been without controversy.

Recently, the Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF), a men’s rights organisation, accused the film of spreading “toxic feminist propaganda.”

Responding to the same, Arati clarifies: “I don’t believe this is toxic feminism. We didn’t depict men as evil. We [only] showed how men are often blind to women’s struggles, unaware of their humanity. Even my own mum faced this,” adding, “We’ve become so accustomed to treating women as ‘functions’ rather than full, independent humans.”

When informed about SIFF’s post on X, comparing men who work gruelling hours at “construction sites” with “happy young women” who cook at home, Arati responds: “The difference is that they (men in these jobs) are paid for their labour. 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’ in response to ‘black lives matter’ — when both are valid. But they shouldn’t be used to dismiss each other.”