“Just one slap?”

I am not a fan of Bollywood movies so when Ayesha Shahzad, who helps me manage my Kip centres, suggested that I accompany her to the movies last Saturday night with the invitation of “I think you will enjoy this movie because it is thought provoking”, I conceded rather glibly. I am glad I went to Australia Fair Event Cinemas to see the Hindi movie, “Thappad” (The Slap) which fortunately came with sub-titles as my knowledge of the Hindi language only goes as far as “Namasthe”. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie that was so anti-Bollywood style: no song and dance, no focus on hero-heroine relationship, no star-studded cast and no exotic locations. Thought provoking, it was indeed.

A montage of domestic bliss plays out in the lead couple’s affluent home with the daily morning ritual of Amrita, the wife, getting up to make the lemon grass and ginger chai for her husband, Vikram, and then dutifully bundling him off to work as he drives his Mercedes to his corporate job. In spite of being a highly educated woman and a talented classical dancer, Amrita chooses to be a domestic goddess selflessly serving her husband who incidentally starts off the movie as being quite an affable chap. He is loving towards his wife, caring to his diabetic mother and respectable to his in-laws. However, halfway through the movie, a pivotal moment occurs with Amrita on the receiving end of a thunderous slap from her incensed husband because she dared tried to quell the quarrel he was engaged in with a colleague at the party held at their home to celebrate his promotion. Since the rest of the movie revolves around this highly charged and humiliating moment, director Anhubav Sinha, takes pain to choreograph this significant scene with all his cinematic prowess. As the camera pans to the shocked faces of the 40-odd party guests, the sound is turned off and a close-up of Amrita’s equally incredulous countenance does not bode well for what is to follow.

“Thappad” is the silent slap that society needed, and a timely reminder for International Women’s Day, that it is not okay to stay quiet about domestic violence even if it was “ just one slap”. It is in the aftermath of this cataclysmic slap that Amrita questions the sacrifice she has made to suppress her own aspirations for her go-getter husband’s ambitions of landing the London promotion post. She questions the wrongness of what transpired despite being told by her mother, mother-in-law and even the high powered divorce lawyer to forget about it and just get on with life - “it was just one slap, right?”

The lead female, Amrita’s life is juxtaposed with sub-plots of other women which adds to the complexity of the storyline. Although these women occupy different spheres of society the thread that stitches the tapestry of the self-sacrificing female’s lot in a patriarchal society is easily recognisable: the servant who is repeatedly beaten by her brutish husband, the corporate lawyer’s submission to her drunk husband who reminds her that she is only successful because of his family name, Vikram’s mother who is separated from her husband and even though Amrita’s parents seem to be happily married, we are reminded her mother had to forsake her dreams of being a singer to play the part of a dutiful wife.


This multi-levelled movie plot does not centre around just on “the slap” but is based on the sacrifices of a woman. It is based on issues like domestic violence, marital rape, and even small dreams which a woman sacrifices for her marriage.  By no means is this a feminist movie as the film doesn’t try to make men look bad. Vikram is a loving and responsible husband throughout but he pays the price for not understanding and appreciating his one thoughtless move when his hand veered the wrong way. He puts it down to the stress of his high-powered job and stubbornly asks why can’t his wife understand and forgive him since he has invested so much of time and effort into his career. This infuriates Amrita even more as she retorts “what about the time and effort I invested in this marriage?”

I especially loved the portrayal of Amrita’s soft-hearted father (Kumud Mishra) who reminded me so much of my father who doted on his daughters. He seems to be the only only one except for Amrita’s soon-to-be-sister-in-law who supports her as she files for divorce. The beautiful love that he shows his daughter while expertly masking the anger he feels towards her mistreatment and the poignant scene when he escorts her to court for the divorce hearing nearly (but not quite) brought tears to my eyes. By the way, Ayesha, was a blubbering mess at least for the better part in this tearjerker of a movie.

With the volatile subject of domestic violence, this movie could have easily escalated to passionate, over-dramatisation but it is restrained with its subtle nuances thanks to the superb acting of Taapsee Pannu who plays the wronged wife, Amrita or Ammu as she is affectionately called, as she suffers her quiet hurt stoically. Equally brilliant, is Pavail Gulati, who fits in so naturally in his role of ambitious husband, Vikram. It is a film worth watching for the whole family: for husbands to realise the folly of their chauvinistic and misogynistic ways, for wives to unshackle themselves from their submissive roles as overlooked spouse that have been passed on through each successive generation, for sons to accord due respect to the woman he marries and for daughters to realise her self worth so that she too can stand up and walk away even though it could be a casual “thappad”.

While this movie doesn’t fall into cliched traps like the bad husband, the mean mother-in-law, the wronged wife taking her husband to the cleaners with the divorce settlement, it still manages to so effectively and seamlessly question male entitlement. I think it is about time that more Bollywood movie-makers ditch the escapist formula and instead work on more stimulating, social dramas like this that not only celebrates the dignity and importance of women but also act as catalysts for their improved status.