The Reverberation And The Scars Of A Thappad Can Last For A Lifetime
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2020-03-03 12:37:48
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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To maro a thappad on the face of patriarchy, to show how a woman fights for her self-esteem, to show how men treat everything as a privilege, to show how men unconsciously put down their wives (when the wife asks him if she can learn driving, the husband retorts that she should learn to make parathas first), to show how love dies with a slap, to show how lawyers bargain even when relationships are at stake and to show how even a nice guy can treat his wife like dirt in a moment of anger and desperation and to do all this in a multi-layered film in two hours and twenty minutes (which many thought was long as they complained out repetitive scenes) is brave and proves that both the writers and the director (Anubhav Sinha jointly with Mrunmayee Lagoo and Anubhav Sinha respectively) had a clear vision and had everything sewn up before they embarked upon the project. Thappad is one of the bravest films to have released in a long time as, like a character says in the film "thodi thodi galti sabki thi", it spares no one and shows a mirror to both men and women, regardless of the strata of the society they belong to.
But a film like this could have gone awfully wrong if the actors who played the characters in the film were not chosen with care. The protagonist, Amrita or Amu as she is called is played by Taapsee Pannu with an amazing degree of self-assurance that shows how she has a complete grip over the craft and how immensely talented she is. The change from a doting housewife who surrenders to every need and whim of her husband (out of her own will, as she later says she wanted to be the best housewife in the world) and looks after her mother-in-law with care to a woman torn apart by self-doubt, confusion, social and legal pressures and the vacuum in her life is portrayed by Pannu with such finesse that she becomes Amu in body and soul. While all other actors do perfect justice to their parts, Kumud Mishra and Ratna Pathak Shah, as Amu's parents, deserve special mention for the manner in which they portray the roles of parents who cannot believe this could happen to their daughter. Mishra as the supportive father is outstanding. Pavail Gulati is an exciting debut as the actor has an amazing screen presence and his childish looks go well with the role of a corporate go-getter who loves his wife but cannot take disappointments in his stride. Gulati does not miss a single cue and puts in an excellent performance.
The gist of the film is beautifully captured in the scene where the husband's immediate boss tells him that it was his fault and he should not have hit his wife. When the husband does not understand why he asks him a simple question. He tells him that his anger and desperation were due to the fact that the immediate boss and the owner of the company had done something which had lowered his status in the company. Would he have hit them to take out his anger? Then how could he hit his wife? This is exactly what Amu thinks when she is confronted with the frequent charge that it was "just a slap" from an otherwise decent guy and which, according to many including her near and dear ones, is "bas itni si baat". But for Amu it is not a small matter as it turns her life upside down. Her response is "nahin mar sakta" and "ek bar bhi nahin". That's the right response. No husband, however decent and loving, has the right to hit his wife, not even once in his entire lifetime. The film ends on a hopeful note when after the divorce, the husband promises the wife that he will try to win her back. It will be a long and tedious journey for any husband, for the reverberation and the scars of a slap that demeans a woman can take more than a lifetime to heal.
PS: It is shameful that the film is not being watched by many. It is essentially a multiplex film and should have done well in the metros and tier-two towns. But it has not, despite excellent reviews. Hopefully, word of mouth will improve collections as this is an important film that should be seen by all families, preferably together.
