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Thappad: The Slap On Indian Patriarchal Society

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Aravind Sreeharsha
Thappad: The Slap On Indian Patriarchal Society

Domestic violence has always been a serious concern for Indian women. According to the statistics, every third woman faces domestic violence. Most women suffer silently because the result of raising voice can be more harrowing. Some women do try to fight against sexual or physical abuse in their own homes, but due to a lack of proper support systems, they cannot gain freedom.

Today’s breaking news in Hindi is that the much-awaited movie “Thappad” has released today. The movie, as the name suggests, is about a slap. Tapsee is playing the character of Amrita - a loving and caring wife and an ideal daughter in law as well. She feels her life is complete. With a loving husband, Vikram, by her side, is ready to let go of all her inhibitions regarding the minor challenges that she has been facing every day in her married life. But that single slap, right in the middle of a crowded house party, cleared her vision. She feels that her world has fallen apart. No one can fix it. Not even Amrita herself. That “Thappad” is enough to make her realize all the unfair things that she has agreed to and compromising to date.

At the very beginning, we talked about domestic violence. The movie does not completely revolve around domestic violence. Rather, it suggests that even a single slap can be a part of domestic violence. It emphasizes the fact that domestic violence does not mean getting beaten up daily. You cannot ignore the impact of a slap and cannot weigh down it by comparing it with other cases of extreme domestic violence.

Thappad is about years of compromise and adjustments that a wife or daughter in law or in that sense, a woman needs to make all her life. It is about the flawed expectations of Indian society. It is about gender biases that our society still follows wholeheartedly.

The movie begins with the motif of an orange ice lolly, which introduces us to all the characters. We soon realize that Amrita is not the only victim. There are several other victims of patriarchy as well.

There’s an old lady who is still resentful that her otherwise loving husband did not care for encouraging her to continue her singing after marriage—the maid at Amrita’s house faces physical abuse in the hands of her husband every single day. The tense interaction between the otherwise lovey-dovey, soon-to-be-married young couple also shows that the roots of patriarchy are deeply grounded. When the accomplishments of the well-established professional do not get the well-deserved credits, we understand that most of the characters in this movie are suffering at some point in life.

Not only Amrita’s in-laws, friends, legal advisors, her own mother, but we as an audience too, the wonder that is not she taking it too far. But as we were slowly traversing those lanes, we soon get the shock by Vikram’s clever handling of the situation.

Pavail Gulati or Vikram puts himself before his wife, Amrita. The film does portray him as a bad guy. Rather he is just like any other Indian man. Anubhav Sinha very shrewdly raises the stakes at the halfway mark. You wonder several times if she should let go or not.

Just wondering for a while how many times do you see the breaking news in Hindi celebrating and promoting any sports that is played by Indian women. Very rare sight, right? How many times have we come across the breaking news in Hindi regarding the uneven pay scale of actors and actresses in the Bollywood and television industry? Just imagine if our media and even Bollywood is gender-biased if even today women do not get the respect and credit they actually deserve, the will be the condition of every Indian household?

Sinha has brilliantly pulled off a complex story in which finally the housewife learns how not to submit and bow down in front of the deeply rooted sexism. The entire ensemble performed brilliantly. The best part of the movie is perhaps Amrita’s supportive father (Kumud Mishra). Tapsee, in Thappad, has completely given up on her otherwise fierce and aggressive nature. Amrita, her character, is sweet and painfully beautiful. Tapsee never loses an opportunity to shine in the movie.

The breaking news in Hindi is that Anubhav Sinha’s Thappad definitely deserves 4 out of 5 stars, if not more. You should definitely go out of this thought-provoking movie. For more breaking news in Hindi, you can go through the Shivalik Journal. It never fails you to keep you updated with all the latest happenings all around you.

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Aravind Sreeharsha
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