The Great Indian Kitchen, a recent Malayalam film, is being critically praised for its scathing portrayal of the reality of women doing household work. It’s making waves for its silent critique about the endless toil of a woman and the unknowing cruelty of man.
The title is neither an ode to Indian food nor its preparation, but it is supposed to be sarcastic and a mockery of the ‘greatness’ of Indian kitchens. With barely any spoken dialogue, it showcases the female lead working incessantly while the men enjoy the privileges that come with their gender.
Watching the movie is a guilt trip as it’s capable of making the viewers squirm in their seats with discomfort when they realize they have also partaken in this unfair treatment unknowingly.
This movie attempted to showcase how patriarchy is entrenched so deep that domestic marital slavery is unnoticed. It can be quite stifling and suffocating to merely observe the daily drudgery.
The fact is this movie made us realize our unknowing dismissal of everyday misogyny. And therefore, more thought-provoking films like this must be made. There is an age-old saying that art imitates life. But life also can be influenced by art. It shows us different perspectives and also makes us think and talk about previously unaddressed topics.
Content such as The Great Indian Kitchen and other poignant works can make us introspect about entitlement and privilege. They can provide a penetrating portrait of pressing social issues that bring out awareness. This is why representation matters. Stories about people leading different lives than us make us aware of things we have turned a blind eye to.
Cinema and other media sources do have a responsibility to create inclusive content and content with values. Even in big-budget movies about an apocalypse or a world-ending alien invasion, rarely a woman leads the charge and makes life or death decisions.
When we change the way we present women in cinema, maybe it will make the general public realize our wrong way of thinking.
The same way we understood the reality of a sacrifice of a housewife through this movie. If movies show misogyny, chauvinism the way they should be and not in a glorified manner of machoism, then maybe we will stop hooting and cheering at such moments. Movies are capable of opening our eyes and making us question archaic beliefs and customs. When such content comes to screen and can reach a broad audience, it can make a difference.
There are certain aspects of culture and traditions in our society that have been normalized but need to be questioned for their inherent sexist undertones. The responsibility of making such changes falls upon us, the current generation, and to make sure this doesn’t carry onto the next generation of girls.
The Great Indian Kitchen throws light on various social-political issues that exist in Kerala but is relatable to all women in India. I highly recommend this movie as it’s an eye-opening experience and is capable of making us contemplate how we have treated the women in our life.
You can check our Other Article about Inequality at Household – Gender Inequality from Our Own People (written by Chitra H K) by clicking on this URL https://democraticnaari.com/2021/02/11/gender-inequality-at-household-from-our-own-people/
fantastic post thank you