Review: Thappad (dir. Anubhav Sinha)

By shattering our illusion, the conclusion of a flimic dialogue sometimes resolves our own deep rooted concerns and sometimes, it wakes up from a dream to a bitter reality.

Films often behave akin to a mirror reflecting the general ideology of a society; its prevalent themes and concerns looking for awareness and resloution through a re-creation on screen. This influential platform becomes an important tool of communication which opens a dialogue within and amindst the viewers by making them question many-a-things. As a result, not only do they posit questions about our own belief systems and actions but also encourage us to dive further behind the deeper psychological reasons, on a group as well as individual basis. By shattering our illusion, the conclusion of a flimic dialogue sometimes resolves our own deep rooted concerns and sometimes, it wakes up from a dream to a bitter reality. However hurtful and unfortunate, it is always better to accept the harsh truth than continue living in a fantasy based upon ignorance and compromise.

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The film revolves around an accidental slap which Amu becomes a victim to during an enraged and heated arguement between her husband Vikram and his office colleague about a job promotion.

This compromise is where the story of our film, Thappad (A Slap) starts. A compromise suggested to Amu based upon the generation old lesson taught and ingrained within a woman that in marriage, tolerance and ignorance will be the virtue building up the facade of a life-long happy marriage. The film revolves around an accidental slap which Amu becomes a victim to during an enraged and heated arguement between her husband Vikram and his office colleague about a job promotion. This one slap makes her question every other thing she had unintentionally been subjecting herself to in what appeared to be a happy marriage. Her own questioning makes everyone around her question the ‘normal and acceptable’ within the bond of marriage or any other relationship and, the ideology they have ingrained within their sons and daughters.

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Sinha tries to direct the audience’s attention towards how the deep-rooted patriarchal psychosis ingrained within our society, carried forward by both women and men cripples our relationships.

The film has a very subtle but brilliant style of building up the narrative tension to portray why ‘just one slap’ becomes a life-altering moment in every character’s life. The director of the film, Anubhav Sinha is known for working with sensitive topics and mastering a brilliant directorial style in his previous films such as Mulk (2018) and Article 15 (2019). By introducing, building, familiarising and “emotionally involving” the viewers to the normal routine within the married life of a happy couple, he is able to accurately justify why this accidental moment means so much. He digs just deep enough to tackle the issue of patriarchal parenting which leads to the reflexive reaction of physical and verbal violence within men. Sinha tries to direct the audience’s attention towards how the deep-rooted patriarchal psychosis ingrained within our society, carried forward by both women and men cripples our relationships. The narrative sheds a light upon the ignorant attitude towards such incidents where it is often suggested for the victim to sweep their disrespect under the carpet for the smooth continuance of a terminally-ill familial fantasy which acts as a comforter for the society as a whole.

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…the way in which she changes her body language throughout the film, the peak of which hits in the days following the night of the incident in which she resembles a zombified state-of-being, drained of its all life with her slouched and semi-paralysed body movements.

Taapsee Pannu as Amrita or Amu is expectantly amazing in the film whose potent acting combined with the genius of Anubhav Sinha’s direction is present in every frame of the film. A beautiful result of this collaboration is the way in which she changes her body language throughout the film, the peak of which hits in the days following the night of the incident in which she resembles a zombified state-of-being, drained of its all life with her slouched and semi-paralysed body movements. Geetika Vidya as fiery and fierce Sunita is an honorary mention, a completely natural actor with an effortless appeal who has nailed acting to absolute perfection, even though quite unbelievably, this is her third film. The beautiful melancholic song compositions by Anurag Saikia and Mangesh Dhakde bring instruments such as shehnai (a type of South- Asian flute) used in weddings at the forefront to align it with the core of the narrative, i.e., the failing of a happy married life. The highlight however, is a heart-wrenching background score featuring violin and paino music which is heard during Amu’s reflective and crumbling moments. The film achieves what in my personal opinion all good ones aim to by bringing an informatative and interogatory streak to its narrative, all along maintaining a cinematic excellence in terms of direction.