Directed by : Anubhav Sinha
Produced by : Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Anubhav Sinha
Written by : Anubhav Sinha, Mrunmayee Lagoo
Starring : Taapsee Pannu, Pavail Gulati, Kumud Mishra, Ratna Pathak Shah, Tanvi Azmi, Dia Mirza, Maya Sarao, Geetika Vidya Ohlyan
Music by : Anurag Saikia (Songs), Mangesh Dhakde (Score)
Streaming Platform : Amazon Prime Video
Year : 2020
‘Thappad’ is one movie I had planned on watching since the first trailer came out, but I never found the time to get around to it. And when it came on Amazon Prime, I suggested the movie to many and yet somehow something else was always more important. The name of the movie and its trailer gives one the idea that you already know what the movie is all about and there won’t be any surprises. A deep-rooted issue was being touched and that deserved an audience. And well, ‘Thappad’ goes beyond the slap into the underlying story!
The movie is so much more than what is shown in the trailer, and touches issues so deep-seeded into our lives than it is no longer ever visible. But something that is not visible does not mean they do not exist. This movie is much deeper than a slap. The movie is not loud, the message is not shouted out, and the underlying tone is not made vocal. The movie’s strength is its silence. The expression of its message projected and presented so beautifully that it takes a moment to realize how true and relevant this is for everyone, how close it hits home.
A slap being not just a slap is only the backbone on which Anubhav Sinha has built this amazing narration. Anubhav Sinha has come a long way from Tum Bin, so much so that we cannot even relate to him the movies he directed before Mulk anymore. Such subtle and amazing writing, beautiful narration and near-perfect direction, that the movie holds your heart and mind right from the very beginning. It does take its time to set the tone and substance of the movie but that’s time worth spending, considering how he weaves them all together so intrinsically and beautifully. Five different lives have been intertwined harmoniously to tell a story, which become the pillars holding it all together. Yes, the movie is not just Tapsee and it is just not one story!
Tapsee Pannu is one actress that has jolted people to give her attention on the sheer force of her acting and in “Thappad” she relies on the force of her quietness and steadiness to hold the character, to bring the story together and then carried it on her shoulders with a quiet vivacity. Her character is no different than the person next to you. But only difference is she realized when things went too far. The slap was a symbol that jolted to surface all that is tolerated, accepted, compromised and forgotten to let the ways we know go on as it is. Since as per the check-boxes of society, everything seems the way it should have been, it gets impossible to see the web building underneath that makes one a victim without even realizing it. And Tapsee worked beautifully with the character, including grasping her struggle, quietness, honesty and love.
Pavail Gulati, who has worked in the series “Made in Heaven”, with Thappad only took the good work forward. As the misguided husband, who does not even realize he has done anything wrong, because by the book he has otherwise done everything right, Pavail is comfortable in his character and inspite of some great actors around him, he managed to make a strong mark.
Kumud Mishra as the loving father, who stood by his daughter through and through is one character you will fall in love with. A seasoned actor, his screen presence was effortless. The best written and executed scene possibly has to be the one when Tapsee’s character Amu asks her father if she is making a mistake and the subtle way he handles the discussion and guides his daughter spoke of not just the character’s strength and understanding but that of Anubhav Sinha as a writer and as a person.
If I go on writing about each character, the detail could go on beyond this review because they each deserve their due. Ratna Pathak as the innocent, understanding mother yet deep rooted in social misconstructs. Tanvi Azmi as the loving mother in law, divided between her blindness as a mother to her love & sympathy for her daughter in law to her own broken relations with her husband. Dia Mirza as the independent, strong and supportive neighbor who herself is a widow with a teenage daughter. Geetika Vidya Ohlyan with her fierce, dynamic and down to earth acting, as the maid who sees it all. Maya Sarao as the divorce lawyer with a strong public face and yet a disheveled and compromised relationship. The list goes on and on.
It is said content is king and this is one movie that is a beautiful, serene and quiet mix of great content, amazing acting and strong substance. Need any more reasons to watch?
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