'Mrs' producer Harman Baweja: 'We spent seven-eight months writing it'

Sanya Malhotra leads the remake of The Great Indian Kitchen

It may be two months away, but Harman Baweja is already counting the days to the January release of Mrs. Creating the Sanya Malhotra-starrer was exactly how he hopes each of his productions to be - collaborative and thought-provoking. "Everyone involved, whether it's our director Arati Kadav or writer Anu Singh Choudhary or Sanya, has spent time discussing every dialogue and moment," recounts Baweja.

Harman Baweja

An adaptation of the Malayalam film, The Great Indian Kitchen (2021), Mrs tells the story of a dancer whose life becomes restricted to the kitchen after her marriage. Considering the Jeo Baby-directed original was widely praised, Baweja and the team wanted to ensure that Mrs stands on its own. It's a responsibility they took to the writing table. "We spent seven-eight months writing it because that is the spine of every film. Sometimes, [while writing], you get carried away and feel this is a great dramatic point, but then you realise that it takes away from the film's essence. You question, ‘Are we making it too easy for her to do what she does towards the end?' Finding the right balance in the film was a challenge, but one that we thoroughly enjoyed."

Before Mrs hits the screens, Baweja's production Khwabon Ka Jhamela will reach the audience. The producer says Prateik Babbar and Sayani Gupta's unusual casting was key to the rom-com. "The idea was to tap into a side of Prateik that hasn't been explored yet; [we wanted to show him] as a guy, who is disciplined and overly regimented. You need that streak of craziness, which he has. Sayani is a ball of energy. We wanted an unlikely pair because the story is about an unlikely
meeting of two people."