#Thappad. A Film Review
Blog Posted Thursday 5th March 2020
This film is a dare.
A test of your ability to come to terms with the breaking of every day norms. Norms unsaid but preset, to condition your relevance in a contract. A breaking that threatens to smudge the line that labels you within our crisp and critical society. And basing it all on one *teeny tiny almost forgettable, nearly forgiveable and yet incrementally huge* Incident.
It, the script by #MrunmayeeLagoo #AnubhavSinhaa and she #TaapseePannu, try you. They question your base instinct... to either squirm a little in your chair at each passing, flowing, seamlessly parallel narrative... or throw your hands up in despair and proclaim "hey that girl, she's just intent on watching it all burn. #WTF."
A lot of us will opt for the latter. It is after all an entire 2.5 hours of your life spent mentally arguing in favour of a woman, unmeasureably happy with her choice of life & life partner, now opting to fling it all out, baby and bathwater, over what looks like an involuntary movement of the right arm, in a moment of duress, in front of a room full of people.
However. If you were those that squirmed, thank you. I am happy for you, you have remained open to evolution.
This movie is not just about a slap. Or physical abuse in marriages or the mental trauma of being controlled, or of being a residue, an ant in the line production of the family industry...or sustained marital rape, among other forms of intimidation.
This is larger, more twisted, if you ask me. It is about the small stuff.
I think the Director #AnubhavSinhaa understood the nature of the tricky sands he was treading when he opted to make this film revolve around the social network of what is considered a *Privilege*. The genesis of it. And most importantly, how it is perpetuated by women at almost every level.
Let's forget the slap. It is almost irrelevant if you ask
me. And he isn't in this for the finger pointing. Not once does the
film hold a sustained rap on the knuckles for any of the males in the
frame. Actor #PavailGulati who plays Vikram, isn't subject to your anger, but let's you breathe this one out. Shit happens.
And yet, of all the men I know, the impact of what occurs, was made plenty clear through the tautness of expressions, the unapologetic punchlines and a very tight script.
It poked all the right holes in all the right places, in the fabric of the *Perfect* institution. Nestled warmly in our #Facebook'd lives and #Instagram lies. Especially the final hesitant despair of #RatnaPathakShah Sandhyaki (Amrita's Mother) with her near-angelic husband #KumudMishra, when she brings to life his gentle crime, of letting it all pass.
It is in the lives that surround #TaapseePannu in the film...those fragile threads, that were woven with great attention to detail, I found some answers. Let's pick at those.
One falls in love with the eloquent wisdoms of #DiaMirza
who plays the successful merc-driving-she-neighbour with such elegance
and a perfectly curated wardrobe, and who admittedly married a near
perfect man. She nails the single-mother tagline with such precision, it
leaves you smiling. Happy in the knowledge that life can be good with
and without.
#TanviAzmi aka the mother-in-law manages to portray so much with so little. Her pain is almost embellished, much like the dark pouches that hang like insults under her eyes and mask her pain, hiding behind a rising sugar level, a missing marriage and meaningless chores. Her response to the series of unfortunate events is classic, nothing out of the ordinary and understandably, depressing.
Let's bring the lawyers in for a bit. #RamKapoor representing the male argument and pitted against the sassy, up and coming #MayaSarao
(Amrita’s divorce lawyer) are very adept at their roles. Ram keeps it
stoic and real, manly, very legal, patronising and precise in his
screentime.
Maya's blunt reality check for the "one slap argument" in court, runs uniquely parallel to Maya's own crises and the shadow it casts on her representing this case, for the finality she finds in the flimsy nature of the argument. This woman holds her own rather well.
#GeetikaVidyaOhlyan (Amrita’s house help) is a revelation surely. Her mad lust for life, her compromise with it and her deep, gradual coming to terms with what made her man, just a man like any other... is a louder slap than the one you see rip across the main character's face. Her choices throughout the film, her words, her silences and her final comeback, created a lot of static in my head.
Of the younger ones in the script like #NailaGrewal (Amrita's future sister-in-law) who make room for expectations, engage you in quick, short bursts of how much room society is willing to make for her idea of a life-partner.
#MangeshDhakde doesn't overwhelm you with sound. His music is simple and it stays, much like the missing rights of a woman, in the background, like an underscore, a garnish that one uses to season a damn good salad.
This film, is complicated. It will be uncomfortable for many, to watch
and to admit. Of being party to the lesser, subtler forms of chauvinism
that we Women accept and sanctify with impunity.
Simply because one act, held in solation, lacked critical mass for any of us to call it out for what it was, some good ol' Patriarchy. It will take a while for us Indians, to come to terms with this dare, this growing need, that a woman, can and should, by her own good offices, determine and exact, legally, what is and is not, a "Privilege" she may choose to grant the men in her life.
And yes, just one slap, could be reason enough.
Blog Posted Thursday 5th March 2020
This film is a dare.
A test of your ability to come to terms with the breaking of every day norms. Norms unsaid but preset, to condition your relevance in a contract. A breaking that threatens to smudge the line that labels you within our crisp and critical society. And basing it all on one *teeny tiny almost forgettable, nearly forgiveable and yet incrementally huge* Incident.
It, the script by #MrunmayeeLagoo #AnubhavSinhaa and she #TaapseePannu, try you. They question your base instinct... to either squirm a little in your chair at each passing, flowing, seamlessly parallel narrative... or throw your hands up in despair and proclaim "hey that girl, she's just intent on watching it all burn. #WTF."
A lot of us will opt for the latter. It is after all an entire 2.5 hours of your life spent mentally arguing in favour of a woman, unmeasureably happy with her choice of life & life partner, now opting to fling it all out, baby and bathwater, over what looks like an involuntary movement of the right arm, in a moment of duress, in front of a room full of people.
However. If you were those that squirmed, thank you. I am happy for you, you have remained open to evolution.
This movie is not just about a slap. Or physical abuse in marriages or the mental trauma of being controlled, or of being a residue, an ant in the line production of the family industry...or sustained marital rape, among other forms of intimidation.
This is larger, more twisted, if you ask me. It is about the small stuff.
I think the Director #AnubhavSinhaa understood the nature of the tricky sands he was treading when he opted to make this film revolve around the social network of what is considered a *Privilege*. The genesis of it. And most importantly, how it is perpetuated by women at almost every level.
Let's forget the slap. It is almost irrelevant if you ask
me. And he isn't in this for the finger pointing. Not once does the
film hold a sustained rap on the knuckles for any of the males in the
frame. Actor #PavailGulati who plays Vikram, isn't subject to your anger, but let's you breathe this one out. Shit happens. And yet, of all the men I know, the impact of what occurs, was made plenty clear through the tautness of expressions, the unapologetic punchlines and a very tight script.
It poked all the right holes in all the right places, in the fabric of the *Perfect* institution. Nestled warmly in our #Facebook'd lives and #Instagram lies. Especially the final hesitant despair of #RatnaPathakShah Sandhyaki (Amrita's Mother) with her near-angelic husband #KumudMishra, when she brings to life his gentle crime, of letting it all pass.
It is in the lives that surround #TaapseePannu in the film...those fragile threads, that were woven with great attention to detail, I found some answers. Let's pick at those.
#TanviAzmi aka the mother-in-law manages to portray so much with so little. Her pain is almost embellished, much like the dark pouches that hang like insults under her eyes and mask her pain, hiding behind a rising sugar level, a missing marriage and meaningless chores. Her response to the series of unfortunate events is classic, nothing out of the ordinary and understandably, depressing.
Let's bring the lawyers in for a bit. #RamKapoor representing the male argument and pitted against the sassy, up and coming #MayaSarao
(Amrita’s divorce lawyer) are very adept at their roles. Ram keeps it
stoic and real, manly, very legal, patronising and precise in his
screentime.Maya's blunt reality check for the "one slap argument" in court, runs uniquely parallel to Maya's own crises and the shadow it casts on her representing this case, for the finality she finds in the flimsy nature of the argument. This woman holds her own rather well.
#GeetikaVidyaOhlyan (Amrita’s house help) is a revelation surely. Her mad lust for life, her compromise with it and her deep, gradual coming to terms with what made her man, just a man like any other... is a louder slap than the one you see rip across the main character's face. Her choices throughout the film, her words, her silences and her final comeback, created a lot of static in my head.
Of the younger ones in the script like #NailaGrewal (Amrita's future sister-in-law) who make room for expectations, engage you in quick, short bursts of how much room society is willing to make for her idea of a life-partner.
#MangeshDhakde doesn't overwhelm you with sound. His music is simple and it stays, much like the missing rights of a woman, in the background, like an underscore, a garnish that one uses to season a damn good salad.
Simply because one act, held in solation, lacked critical mass for any of us to call it out for what it was, some good ol' Patriarchy. It will take a while for us Indians, to come to terms with this dare, this growing need, that a woman, can and should, by her own good offices, determine and exact, legally, what is and is not, a "Privilege" she may choose to grant the men in her life.
And yes, just one slap, could be reason enough.
