It’s infuriating to see trailers of Hindi films reveal almost everything. While watching these movies, you know how the story will progress and wait for those important scenes shown in the promotional videos.
As I watched Thappad, which again triggered many debates after its release on Amazon Prime Video earlier this month, I struggled to shake off the eerie tension around me. I couldn’t wait for the movie to reach the point where the protagonist (Taapsee Pannu) gets slapped by her husband.
This was because, going by the trailers, the film was to take off only after the slap. Only in my second viewing of Anubhav Sinha’s film did I realise how I completely missed the smaller scenes in the lead-up to the incident that add value to the film’s central argument. I was blinded by my desperation to see the most important scene in the film.
“Just a slap” is a dialogue that helped writers to think of imaginative headlines for their interesting pieces on the film. It’s also a slap that misled people in their judgement of Thappad. It’s a slap that exposed the strong prejudice against films starring female protagonists.
“Seeking divorce because of one slap is silly." "She should have given it a chance and worked towards saving the relationship.” These were complaints from the film’s naysayers on social media. There were mostly men and some women in this brigade. Most of them shockingly admitted to not having watched the film. Among the lazy comments, the gold medal goes to this one: “It’s the usual feminist film.”
Sinha spoon-feeds his intentions and it is surprising to see people miss the film’s point. “The slap made me realise all the unfair things that I had so far inadvertently ignored and moved on in life,” says Amrita, Taapsee’s character. So it’s not the slap but Amrita’s everyday life before the dreadful night that matters here. My friend brilliantly described Amrita’s life. “She was an Alexa toy – the Amazon Echo Dot – to her husband. She duly took all his orders,” he said.
Thappad doesn’t say men are trash. It’s about a woman who stands firm on her choice. Hence, you see Amrita oppose her lawyer’s suggestion to file a domestic abuse case. It was her choice to move out of the relationship and she isn’t interested in defaming or accusing her husband of something he didn’t do. With this idea, the film makes you root for a woman who seeks happiness and respect in life.
Relationships fail because men like Amrita’s husband Vikram are never part of the family. They are married to their work. You understand this in a beautiful scene. The day after he slaps his wife in front of several guests at a party, Vikram fails to realise the reason behind Amrita’s prolonged silence.
While apologising, he seeks sympathy for his work problems. Sunita (Geetika Vidya Ohlyan), the maid, stands silently during this scene, knowing exactly what Amrita wants at that moment - respect and personal space. The maid is able to judge how sensitive the situation is. So what if the husband were at the receiving end? Well, we can only argue about what a film sets out to do. If a man’s character is designed similarly in another film, then he too will decide to move out and start a journey of finding himself, like Amrita does here. It all boils down to an individual’s choice.
Films with female leads are often dismissed as tear-jerkers. There exists a strong perception that these movies offer nothing but social commentary. The actors are frivolously called men-haters. Perhaps bad films on similar themes are to blame for this too.
But actors like Taapsee, Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt and Kangana Ranaut have been part of enough good films for us to believe in their choices. Thappad is largely good storytelling with characters not behaving like caricatures. Sinha’s writing of Dia Mirza’s character, a strong-minded single mother, is very likeable for its simplicity.
The in-your-face portrayal of patriarchy in such films can make men uncomfortable. When Amrita’s mother requests her son-in-law to forgive her daughter whenever she commits a ‘mistake’, I squirmed. It was reality hitting hard.
Thappad is long. Sinha’s decision to provide a positive closure is a let-down. The sudden transformation of all the characters is hard to believe. It takes some sheen off the hard-hitting tone of the film. It isn’t a perfect film but definitely deserves discussions and not hatred.