There’s no doubt that several movies from our film industry are synonymous with cringiness. In fact, a bunch of our movies go hand-in-hand with toxic characters like dal and chawal. And, one such movie is Hum Saath Saath Hain.
During the past weekend, I decided to watch this cult movie with my folks. Right after a few minutes, everyone was either sobbing during the emotional scenes or clapping in excitement during the sanskaari scenes.
On the other hand, I was sitting with a big question mark on my face. And, that’s exactly when I decided to write this article. So, here we are!
From stereotyping women to problematic dialogues, here are some of the most toxic things that the movie taught us. Read on.
1. The blatant sexism.
The three bahus – Sadhana (Tabu), Preeti (Sonali Bendre) and Sapna (Karisma Kapoor) – were all well-educated and yet, their sole goal was their respective marriages and husbands. Despite being modern women, they had no other purpose in their lives other than being someone’s ‘wives’. How toxic is that?
2. The over-excitement of doing everything together.
When I say everything, I mean every frickin’ thing – even on honeymoon. The movie gives no damn about an individual and their private life. From singing together on a bus to eating together at the table, every single person in the movie did every single thing together. I mean, what?
3. Treating the elders like a god.
It’s one thing to respect and love your parents, and it’s a completely different thing to turn them into a god. The entire plot of the movie revolves around the latter. They legit had a song that said, ‘yeh toh sach hai ki bhagwan hai, dharti pe roop maa-baap ka, uss vidhaata ki pehchaan hain.’ The parents are only human and they are bound to make mistakes too, which they do in the second half of the movie.
4. The flawed cultural standards.
The biggest example – showcasing how women of the house only eat after their husbands are done with their meals. The movie simply glorified being a housewife where they considered their husbands as gods and acted nervous and shy around them. This is exactly the toxic thing we don’t need in our lives.
5. The typical ‘adopted child’ tale.
The adopted child loved his parents more than anything else in the entire universe. Yet, he was kicked out of the house without any fault of his own. He doesn’t even respond back when he’s asked to leave. To be honest, the toxic thinking around this topic is the real villain here.
6. If you get up at 8 am and are not a part of the family pooja – you are unsanskaari.
I mean, seriously? It’s amazing if someone does get up early in the morning and prays with their parents but it’s not a crime if they don’t, right? The mother, Mamta (Reema Lagoo), keeps on telling a bunch of people that her youngest son aka the shehzaade sahab wakes up at 8 in the morning. Um, okay, so?
7. Arranged marriages, arranged marriages!
The father of a woman, Sadhana (Tabu), sees a man, Vivek (Mohnish Bahl), at his family function, loves him and comes up the next day, to ask for a proposal from his parents. The father assumed, by looking into his daughter’s eyes, that she will be a good fit for their family. No one cared to ask her or the man. It’s their wedding, right?
8. The lack of privacy in the huge household.
From romancing in silence to just wanting to have a polite conversation, it seemed impossible for a couple to have a normal conversation with their families around. There would always be someone to disturb them. If this isn’t toxic, then what is?
It looks like they took the movie title too seriously, didn’t they?