Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai actress Samridhii Shukla has spoken candidly about the need to dismantle traditional gender roles within households, arguing that domestic responsibilities must be shared equally between partners. The actress, who plays the lead role of Abhira in the long-running Star Plus drama, made the remarks on 26 July, drawing on both her on-screen character's struggles and broader social realities.

The Unequal Burden Women Carry

Shukla did not mince words when describing the invisible load that continues to fall disproportionately on women. “Many women are still expected to do it all. They are expected to take care of the children, work if they choose to, and then come back home and manage the household as well. Even if they are not personally cooking, they are expected to organise everything, coordinate with the cook, and make sure the house runs smoothly. The responsibility of managing everything somehow automatically falls on the woman,” she said.

The actress argued that this expectation is structurally unfair, particularly in dual-income households where both partners share the same living space and the same parental role. “I honestly think that expectation is unfair. When two people get married, they build a life together. They both live in the same house, they both use everything in it, and most importantly, the children belong to both parents. So why should one person be expected to carry the larger share of the responsibility? Roles can and should change depending on the situation,” she added.

Flexibility Over Rigid Roles

Rather than prescribing a fixed model, Samridhii advocated for a fluid, situation-based approach to dividing responsibilities. She described a scenario where a husband steps up professionally when his partner has just given birth, and reciprocates by managing the home when she is ready to return to work or pursue personal goals.

“It’s about making space for each other’s dreams instead of expecting one person to sacrifice all the time,” she said. The framing positions domestic equality less as a political demand and more as a practical partnership — a distinction that resonates with younger urban audiences who are renegotiating household norms.

How Abhira Mirrors Real-Life Pressures

Shukla connected her views directly to her character on Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, noting that Abhira’s on-screen arc reflects a tension many women navigate daily. “Abhira is trying to be everywhere and do everything at once. It’s not easy at all. There is so much pressure on her, and that’s something many women experience in real life too. They constantly feel the need to prove themselves both at home and outside, and that emotional load is very real,” she said.

The show, one of Indian television’s longest-running family dramas, has frequently used its central characters to explore evolving gender dynamics — making Shukla’s comments an extension of the narrative her character already inhabits on screen.

Wider Conversation on Domestic Equality

Shukla’s remarks arrive at a moment when the conversation around unpaid domestic labour and the ‘mental load’ has gained traction in India, particularly on social media and in urban professional circles. Studies and surveys in recent years have consistently shown that Indian women spend significantly more hours on unpaid household work than their male counterparts, even when both are employed full-time. While Shukla speaks from the vantage point of an entertainer rather than a policy advocate, her platform gives the conversation considerable reach. As Abhira’s story continues to unfold on screen, the character’s struggles may well keep this dialogue alive for the show’s large viewership.