Chhapaak: Acid First Enters The Mind
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
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By Linus Garg
First publised on 2020-01-14 13:42:54
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
The very fact that if Chapaak is being seen by one person then Tanhaji is being seen by four shows that people treat sensitive subjects as not being of entertainment value. But one sincerely advises those who think like this to go and watch the movie. They will find that their views will change completely. For, Chapaak, although it deals with the subject of violence against women (acid attacks in particular), is not devoid of entertainment value. In fact, the film blends entertainment excellently with the gravity of the crime to show that although the girls who have been attacked are disfigured and battered for life, their zeal and willingness to lead a normal life is not killed.
Meghan Gulzar (Talvar, Raazi) is in full control of the film and does not let it drag or become preachy. Her Malti (Deepika Padukone in a performance that will take her miles ahead of her contemporaries), though reluctant at first and horrified by her scarred face (her scream on seeing it for the first time after the attack will stay with you for a while), picks up the thread of her life fairly quickly and does things a normal girl will do. It is another matter that society looks at her differently. Although a competent beautician, she is refused a job in a parlour as the owner says, "beauty parlour mein beauty na ho toh problem hoti hai".
Yet, when asked why she wants to party when the battle is only half-won, she tells the NGO head (who she loves"silently") that "acid aap pe nahin, mujhpe fenka gaya tha aur main party karna chahti hoon". In another scene, when she is asked why she is happy despite so many reverses, she coolly says that "ab khush hoon toh kya karun?" Deepika is well supported by Vikrant Massey as the head of the NGO she works for, Madhurjit Sarghi as the indomitable lawyer who supports her and Payal Nair as the lady in whose house her father works and who supports her in all possible ways, including financially.
In the end, society must realize that, as a character in the film says, "acid pehle dimag mein me ati hai fir haath mein". It is the acid in the mind that has to be obliterated for crimes against women to stop. Go and watch the film, if not for anything else than for Deepika's performance and the fact that it is a well-made film on a sensitive subject that is not preachy.
