MUMBAI: What would you do if your partner slaps you? Will you take a stand for your dignity and self-respect by questioning back or shut up and bend in front of the societal norms that we are brought up in?
This is a question that director-producer Anubhav Sinha’s masterpiece Thappad forces you to think about.
The movie is indeed a silent slap on the face of a society that says that a woman should learn to adjust and that post marriage, only her husband's house takes priority.
The movie revolves around Amrita, a housewife and a trained Indian classical dancer, and Vikram a career-oriented man who aims to have a settled life with his wife, like any individual out there.
The movie begins with Amrita (Taapsee Pannu) following her daily duties as the perfect house wife who has left her passion for dance behind. She willin serves her family and husband Vikram (Pavail Gulati) who is aiming to settle down with his family in abroad. Their perfect life takes a 360-degree turn when Vikram lands himself into office politics and his dreams of settling down abroad go downhill. Un his aggression he ends up hitting his wife Amrita.
Vikram’s one unthinkable step is what changes his life upside down and makes Amrita take a step that not only her mother and Vikram, but also society disagrees with: a step towards divorce. This is not a story of domestic violence. Thappad is a fight of a woman against societal norms that think a woman should br the one adjusting and suppressing her emotions for the sake of her family.
According to Vikram, nothing has changed in his life post that incident. He is in denial and does not even understand why Amrita takes a break that turns into the decision of a divorce.
Anubhav Sinha’s social drama is a must watch for our society, as we rarely talk about a topic like domestic violence or a woman's rights post marriage. Thaapad will make you do so!
One slap at a party takes the form of a full-blown conversation and will make you think about the unsaid things in a marriage that a woman does. Why is it always that we as woman are reminded constantly about society and log kya kahenge? Woh log will never come to help you if and when you land yourself in trouble. It is your right to stand for your rights and self respect.
Pavail Gulati plays Vikram to perfection...a man who loves his wife but in the heat of the moment, ends up making a mistake.
As for Tappsee Pannu aka Amrita, the actress is a sea of emotions and has outdone herself in the movie. Playing a doting wife and then one who takes a stand for herself, Tappsee’s acting will leave you in awe of her.
The turning point in the movie is Tappsee’s speech to her mother-in-law, played by Tanvi Azmi, as she is hurt by the complete family who only bothered about the ghar ka beta and not the bahu in the entire incident.
Taapsee portrays pain, disgust, regret, and rage, without saying too much in each scene. Kumud Mishra stands out as Amrita's father, as he is the perfect support system to his daughter, whereas Ratna Pathak, who portrays Amrita’s mother, is indeed a torchbearer for societal norms.
The music of the film by Anurag Saikia is beautiful and in sync with the movie as it blends well with the scenes and narrative.
Kudos to the team of Thappad. The movie will stir emotions in you, and you will leave the theatres with a few questions in your mind. The producer and writer (Mrunmayee Lagoo and Anubhav) deserve applause for the in-depth emotions they showed through the actors and a wonderful script.
TellyChakkar would like to give the movie 4 out of 5 stars.
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