The Great Indian Kitchen is the 2021 Malayalam family drama film centered around the family system that follows the sexual division of labor's stereotypical practices. The family believes that the women must do household works of cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the male husband. Their existing patriarchal beliefs developed from culture and traditions institutionalized through the family system with traditional values.
The brilliant acting from Nimisha Sajayan(Wife) and National Award Winner Suraj Venjaramoodu(Husband) took the characters into the genuine spirit. As the student of classical dancer(Nimisha) married the school teacher(Suraj) by providing glossy red car and tons of jewelry. After the marriage, she became a prisoner of life where she must do household works- cooking, cleaning, caring for the household members.
There were moments in the film which visualized the notions of Patriarchy and Stereotypical sexual division of labor. At the beginning of the film, the mother-in-law starts her morning - cooking for the family, washing the clothes, and finish the day after cleaning the utensils. Later the same routine work in the absence of a mother-in-law done by the wife of Suraj, a female acquaintance, and a female relative. These routines jobs have been done when the male characters in the family performing Yoga and reading Newspaper.
There are regressive practices shown in the film where the mother-in-law took the chappals in hand and gave them to her husband before he ventures out from the house, confining women inside the room during menstruation, conservative family members portraying menstruation as a sin, not allowing women to get employed, restricting women inside the walls of the kitchen.
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