New Delhi: Actor Sanya Malhotra, who is garnering rave reviews for her latest release Mrs, says while relationships demand numerous compromises, there are certain “red flags” such as disrespect and gaslighting that she would never overlook.
Mrs stars Malhotra as Richa, an aspiring dancer who is married off in a patriarchal family where she is reduced to doing household chores but ultimately resists her oppression.
Directed by Arati Kadav of Cargo fame and adapted from the hit Malayalam film The Great Indian Kitchen, the movie is streaming on ZEE5.
The actor, also known for films like Dangal, Pagglait, and Kathal – A Jackfruit Mystery, said she has great men like her brother-in-law and friends around her.
“A relationship requires many compromises… There are major red flags which I will avoid like having no respect at all and if somebody is constantly gaslighting me, then no, or someone who’s not ready to listen. These are my major red flags,” Malhotra told PTI in an interview here.
Easy communication is a “green flag” for her, she said.
“… When I’m able to communicate any thought that comes up in my head… It shouldn’t be like I’m not comfortable talking to my partner about this. An easy, free flowing communication is a green flag. I like to communicate, I love talking… I can talk about my emotions, my career all the time,” she added.
As someone who is a public figure, Malhotra said she wants to keep some aspects of her life just to herself.
Unlike other people in the film industry, the 32-year-old isn’t a fan of the “hustle culture”.
“Hustle culture in this industry… We celebrate it, romanticise it, and we also glorify it. Our industry does that ‘Oh! We are ready to die on set!’ or that ‘We will spend all our life in front of the camera’, which I don’t believe in. So many people work with that intention. Not a lot of people have that balance in their lives. It becomes a bit difficult to navigate when I want to focus on my personal life, not just my work.
“If I want to grow as an actor, I want to live my life beyond the set. I also want to meet new people who are not from the film industry, who are not connected to this at all, to learn something new. But it’s difficult because there is no timetable in our industry. People are working Saturdays-Sundays, until 12 am, constantly and they are also glorifying that sort of behaviour.”
At times, Malhotra said one has to really put their “foot down”.
“… Like ‘I do not work Saturdays-Sundays’ or ‘I will not reply to your message after 10-11 pm’. That’s important to do… I also want my team to enjoy Saturdays-Sundays, I feel one must get at least two days in a week to have fun and enjoy and then come back to work feeling good,” she added.
Mrs, also starring Nishant Dahiya and Kanwaljit Singh, is based on 2021’s The Great Indian Kitchen directed by Jeo Baby.
Malhotra will next be seen in Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, Toaster, and director Anurag Kashyap’s currently untitled film.