Thappad: Bollywood Movie Review
So, I watched Thappad on Sunday. It took me a day to write something about it.
Why? Because it hit me too close to home…. far too close to home.
The woman who has lost her equilibrium after facing a demeaning slap from her significant other.. a woman who loses her respect and her love, not just as an outcome of the slap but as an outcome of…
The genuine apology that never came..
The airbrushing that came after, the one that screamed ‘normal’ as if nothing happened..
The constant ‘me before you’ that had never ever been more apparent..
The ‘oh, you are so repleaceable’ that had never ever been more evident..
The ‘chotisi baat ka batangad kyu bana rahi ho’ that came in from all quarters..
The ‘I work at an MNC, bohot stress hai’, so you obviously wouldn’t understand and worse, everything about you must obviously take the back seat.
The ‘chalo mujhe maar lo aur baat barabar karlo’ ridiculousness that prohibited any further chance of understanding…
That ‘pehli baar to hua yaar’ that tried to make all your feelings so inconsequential and worse, petulant..
That ‘chalo tumne point prove kar liya ab ghar chalo’ that aimed to disqualify the very basis behind your behavior…
So on and so forth…
Everyday abuse, not necessarily physical… so yes, the movie hits way too close to home.
Should you watch it? Not if you hate slow movies and especially hate movies on female emotions. Not if you are only watching to find the male suffering in the ‘hostile’ female-centric territory. Trust me, you’re better off watching Netflix at home.
If you are a human with a good level of EQ and are open to plots that showcase something deeper than ‘ye feminists din raat abuse abuse rote rehte hai yaar’, then you should watch it… you most definitely should watch it.
The film, though slow, shows a beautiful, subtle story of emotions and actions. Emotions that pile on and on, and actions that require a big leap of self-belief on knowing when one has had enough. Each and every character, however small, shows a believable character growth graph, which is rare and hence also very beautiful to see. A lot is said in dialogs, but a lot more is said while being unsaid… and it is these unsaid dialogs that hit you harder.
While the central theme is obviously the thappad and its aftermath, the movie does not fail to capture everyday sexism either… such as the evergreen ‘ye log gaadiya leke nikalte kyu hai yaar’ and ‘phir ek nayi car, woh kaam kya karti hai’..
The best four things about the movie IMO
– Ram Kapoor… the no nonsense, straighttalking lawyer who has very few scruples but still doesn’t balk from shooting it straight and square when the guilty party starts getting a little too complacent regarding itna bada to kuch hua hi nahi. He knows the law and the legalities even when he is out to support his client, and his, ‘nahi, galti to thi, and be prepared, the police have the authority to arrest you’ is the simplest of statements that makes the crime all too real.
– The mum and the mum-in-law both of which are consciously aware of right and wrong yet beautifully blind due to societal and cultural upbringing for the former and the love for a son in the case of the latter. For those who like to read between the lines, this dynamic is one that really plays on your psyche, long after you have left the theater..
– The father. The pillar of strength for any and every girl out there, the father here is the quintessential ‘I will stand with my daughter, no matter what’ home that every daughter needs and deserves. His one liners and longer gyaan are both hard-hitting and worldly-wise. His pain and stress of what is happening in his daughter’s life is also oh-so-believable, my heart went out to him!
– Dia Mirza and her effortless portrayal of a woman all alone, a woman who lives life on her own terms without compromising what women are inherently more aware of ‘morality’. Her ‘I’d like to believe that men are wonderful people, so I’ll pretend what you just asked of me never happened’ overtakes all other one-liners in the movie. And that’s quite an achievement since the movie is littered with quotable one-liners from start to finish.
Last but not the least, the one avenue the movie fails to adequately capture is the burden of the inadequate housewife. While the central protagonist has been shown to be lacking in cooking skills, she is otherwise, what would be a perfect housewife. Her efforts in the kitchen department also go all out to show her as a person always looking to improve and be a better wife to her man.
Now that, I have a problem with. A perfect housewife did not deserve to be treated that way. But a sorely lacking housewife does not deserve it too!!
A woman who can cook, cannot cook or simply does not want to cook. A woman who dresses conservatively, wakes up early, takes care of the family and supports her husband in every way does not deserve to be treated that way. But a women who dresses as she please, sleeps in till mid morning, does not go all out to take ‘desi bahu’ type of care when it concerns her inlaws and does not put supporting her husband first in every single situation does not deserve it either. But this, sadly, is the bane of Bollywood that we must all live with if we are to see beautiful women-centric movies from them, now and in the future.
As an ending footnote… this movie, and similar real life cases, all have one BIG premise….. and it is about the APOLOGY that never comes thanks to some very fragile but very big male egos.
Thankfully, fictional men (in books and movies) do apologise (while real men rarely do) and that is precisely why we all fall in love with all those Mr. Darcys and Mr Knightleys, you know.
Before we end, here’s the movie’s trailer:
Thappad was a great movie and I simply loved it. No man or his family has the right to emotionally or physically abuse a woman. You forgot to mention the role played by Taapsee pannu’s brother who also tries to convince her to go back. If only the women of India stood up against this kind of staunch opposition in real life! But unfortunately in real life women most often allow themselves to be intimidated into submission. A great movie and you have written a great review that echoes my feelings.
Thappad was a great movie and I simply loved it. No man or his family has the right to emotionally or physically abuse a woman. You forgot to mention the role played by Taapsee pannu’s brother who also tries to convince her to go back. If only the women of India stood up against abuse with this kind of staunch opposition in real life! But unfortunately in real life women most often allow themselves to be intimidated into submission. A great movie and you have written a great review that echoes my feelings.
Oh yes, totally missed him in my haste to jot down my favorite ones, that brother was worth a mention.
Nice review!! I watched this movie and I really liked it.
Thank you.
Heard so much about this movie but your review is quite intriguing. Will check it out.
I had watched this movie and loved it totally. Tapsi did a wonderful job. Loved your honest review about it.
Thank you Surbhi.
The last line is so On-point. Men’s ego is bigger than their brains. Very well analyzed the characters of movie.
Thank you Kinshoo.
I have been hearing great reviews about thappad.. but with the corona lockdown, I haven’t managed to catch it
It is also on Amazon Prime I believe. You can catch it there from the comfort of your home.
I watched the movie and I totally agree with you, however at a point I felt there could have been other circumstances which could have worked out better
I guess every person’s individual reaction to such instances, especially how big a deal it is for them deep down, is different.
Wow, that was a great review of a great movie. Honestly, I liked the movie overall and I do not support the husband hitting a wife and she definitely has a right to question that. But in the movie, it was a little over-exaggerated. The overall message was nicely conveyed though.
Thank you
I have heard so much about this movie…but I haven’t watched it as yet…hope to catch it soon…thanks for review!
Thank you
A pleasure. hope you like it.
I have watched his movie and must say it’s a Thapad on Indian society and some ppl who behave like this.
Totally!
This movie hit hard on the reality and the bitter truth that women always have to comprise even for her self-respect. #MyFriendAlexa
#dewreads
The sad reality
Oh Darcy…be still my beating heart. Jane Austen knew her heroes and heroines.
I had heard reviews that it wasn’t very good or realistic or even interesting – some of these reviews from women. But reading some dialogues you posted, I realize why. It seems like a good watch just to empathise with women of such plights. Thanks for the review.
Thank you. We share our love for Jane Austen heroes by the way.
I haven’t watched the movie yet, but had heard mixed reactions from people.. your review is hard hitting an do am definitely going to watch it.
Thank you Akanksha. It is certainly worth a watch because you may be on this side or that, but you certainly won’t be left on the fence with this one.
I have heard a lot about this movie. But somehow I have stopped watching or enjoying movies lately. But the issue on which this movie is based on is more important. I totally agree with you the apology never comes, the ego always becomes bigger than the earth!!!
I am also a bit off Hindi movies right now. Thankfully, this movie review came when I watched it, before I hit this realization. Not sure if I am quite ready to hit the theatres again, or if I will ever be. Let’s see.
I have watched this movie, honestly the pathetic mindset of our society towards women made me sad!
It is most certainly disheartening.
This is story close to most women, and the 90% of them fail to accept it or even recognise that it exists. That is what troubles me the most. Women bear so much and think it is always their mistake. Anybody will trample you and move on if you don’t stand-up for yourself. The irony is that in the bargain of fighting for one’s own self respect, the women gains nothing but a black mark. But now, society is changing.
Society is changing, but not quite fast enough. Let’s hope we get there someday and soon.
Apt review… You know what I have heard people the same things you jotted down, even after saying the movie… Specially the one ‘corporate work culture is so stressful… The thappad was not meant to be, but happened due to stress’! I fail to understand how can people have the gall to say that! And yes, that Dia Mirza stole all my praises… Thanks for the no holds barred review…
Thank you Haimanti.
I saw this movie last month and I really am glad that the makers of the movie touched a very important topic.
Absolutely.
To be honest it was a lovely movie in the sense that it beautifully portrays what so many women go through especially to just stay on in a relationship just because it would look bad in the society amongst others. Sad but true 🙁
Absolutely. It is a very twisted state of affairs because the tags given to divorced or separated women are a punishment on their own.
The line that stuck with me from the movie was what she says to her MIL that you loved me only as ur DIL and not as an individual.
Totally!
A story that speaks so much about the mentality of people in India towards women. “Only a Slap”; really?
Totally!
Now this is what i call a review!!
Wonderfully written Sayali.
I loved how you’ve put your justifications for every point. I watched the movie, i liked it and i was moved by it. Definitely.
But reading your review makes me want to go back and watch it again. With an educated mind this time. Loved this post!
Thank you so much Radhika.
I had wanted to see this movie in the theatre but corona spoilt those plans. But I did watch it. I think my favourite bit about the movie is when Tapsee’s character enters her car and drives away in the end.
Yes, that’s a poignant ‘closure’ moment.
My favourite scene in the movie is the conversation between the lawyer and Taapsee where she says yes sirf ek thappad… because nahi maar sakta. For some reason it hits me hard because everyone, including many women themselves, would have the same thing to say… sirf ek thappad, let it go, so on and so forth, just like that lawyer. In fact, read the comments right here on this post, even here so many feel that Taapsee’s response was exaggerated. But her simple answer makes it all seem all too real. Because no one really knows the magnitude of an event as seen by the person who actually went through it.