In a recent interview, actor Rani Mukerji weighed in on household dynamics and gender roles, remarking that wives should raise their voices while speaking to their husbands.
The comment has since triggered a wave of backlash online, with several social media users criticising the actor for normalising shouting within a relationship.
Rani Mukerji’s remarks get flak
During a conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Rani spoke about the importance of gender dynamics at home.
Talking about how a boy’s behaviour is shaped by the way his father treats his mother, Rani said, “I think respect starts at home. Very easily, when you see your mother being ill-treated, it empowers boys to think that if my mother can be treated like this, every other girl can be treated the same way. I think fathers need to be responsible for how they treat their wives at home, because that’s what a boy grows up seeing. If your mother is treated well, if she’s given respect, boys will understand that women are supposed to be given that respect and that darja in society.”
She continued, “So it all starts at home. Even a small thing like a father raising his voice at the mother shouldn’t happen. You know, the mother should raise her voice at the father, that’s how it should be.”
Rani went on to recall an incident from her school days, sharing that she once slapped a boy, before jokingly referencing her husband, filmmaker-producer Aditya Chopra.
“Only one boy I slapped, and the rest of the boys were my friends. And just don’t go and ask my husband what happens to him every day at home,” Rani said.
However, Rani’s remarks did not sit well with a section of social media users. Many took to platforms such as Reddit and Instagram to voice their disagreement, questioning her perspective.
One wrote, “I think she tries to be funny, but she doesn’t realise that she is NOT”, with another mentioning, “She laughs and insists she made a great point.”
“What kind of behaviour is this? I honestly don’t understand why no one ever calls her out. Just because she’s from an older generation doesn’t mean she can say anything she wants,” one mentioned. One wrote, “We talked about this Rani. Not again!”
“Why would anyone raise voice against anyone? Can’t we just talk about peace and having gentle conversation,” one wrote. Another shared, “Normalising shouting in a relationship-no matter who does it-is a strange hill to die on.”
Rani’s next project
At the moment, Rani is looking forward to the release of Mardaani 3. It centres on the life of Rani’s cop (Shivani Shivaji Roy), who strives to curb crime in her city, especially against women. Written by Aayush Gupta, directed by Abhiraj Minwala, and produced by Aditya Chopra, the third instalment of the Mardaani franchise is scheduled to hit theatres on January 30.