6 Reasons to Watch Thappad Before Marriage
Tapsee Pannu-starrer Thappad made waves when it hit the theatres on February 28th. Directed by Anubhav Sinha, the movie follows Amritha, who re-evaluates her life and marriage after being slapped publicly. The movie garnered negative reviews from some, who felt that the core premise of the movie was illogical.
However, there ware opinions of the movie being a slap to the face of movies like Kabir Singh. One thing that cannot be denied is Pannu’s subtle and beautiful portrayal of Amritha and her complicated emotions.
Sadly, the movie’s box office run was interrupted by COVID 19 outbreak. But, with its availability on Amazon Prime Video, people can access the movie. Despite its core premise, Thappad has a lot more to offer. One of the foremost being an insight into an Indian marriage and the decisions that go into maintaining it. This makes the movie a must-watch before getting married or choosing a life partner.
Here are 6 lessons you can learn from Thappad:
Gives you a glimpse into the reality of an Indian marriage
One of the first things that Thappad movie gives an insight into is a typical Indian marriage. Although the movie primarily follows Amritha and Vikram, there are plenty of scenes that portray the relationship between their parents, as well. As the movie progresses, we see how women are taught to believe and later, teach their daughter of the “responsibilities of a wife.”
What we also see in the movie is how wives and their dreams and needs are often taken for granted by husbands, even if it is unintentional (as in Amritha’s father’s case). However, the highlight is the movie’s core premise– domestic abuse or the start of it in Amritha’s situation. We see everyone in the movie, from the Amritha’s mother to the maid, normalizing a slap. As bitter as it is to swallow, it is the unsaid reality of most Indian marriages.
Helps you decide if you are making the right choice
Choosing a life partner and getting married to them, whether arranged or love is a major life decision. The decision requires forethought and deliberation, and that is what we learn from Tapsee-starrer Thappad. Throughout the movie, we see Amritha struggling with her decision to divorce Vikram, but above all wondering why she chose to marry him.
Then, there is Swati, Amritha’s future sister-in-law, weighing her decision to marry Karan (Amritha’s brother) after seeing his misogynistic response to Amritha’s divorce. Let us make Amritha and Swati as our examples to make wise decisions in our life.
Will make you re-evaluate your normalcy and boundaries
If there is one thing anyone who watches the movie will learn, for sure, it is the importance of setting boundaries. In intimate relationships, we often end up tolerating more than we ideally should, creating an imbalanced dynamic. In Thappad, we see Amritha realizing this after being publically slapped by Vikram and his apparent nonchalance over the same.
When justifying her need for a divorce, she says, “Uss ek Thappad se mujhe woh sari unfair cheeze saaf saaf dhikhne lag gayi jisko main undekha karke move on karte aa rahi thi.” (With that one slap I could clearly see all the things I have been overlooking and moving on from.) Her statement holds true, for we see how Vikram treated her before the ultimate slap. As such, the movie teaches us why and where we need to set the boundary, an important thing before and after marriage.
Inspire you to take a stand for yourself and put you first
Tapsee Pannu’s Amritha is the textbook definition of a giver in a relationship. In an ideal relationship, the amount of giving and receiving should be equal. However, most relationships end up having a set giver and receiver. Amritha was the giver in her relationship with Vikram and like most givers, she didn’t put herself and her need first.
We can see this clearly at the beginning of the movie when she barely sleeps for four hours to take care of everyone’s needs. Later in the movie, she questions her actions and decides to put her needs first. When it comes to marriage, compromise is a must; we all know that. However, when it matters the most, we need to be our greatest supporter.
Help you understand the complexity and beauty of relationships
The number of relationships in our lives skyrockets after marriage. One is not like the other, and that is what makes them and our lives complicated. Amritha has beautifully handled all the relationships in her life, from her husband and in-laws to her parents and brother. At the time of her need, she did not have anyone by her side, as they were busy to patch things up for outward appearance and accepting what had happened as normal or trivial.
However, she chose to have and accept them in her life, instead of holding a grudge. For instance, despite getting a divorce from Vikram, she chose to take care of his mother, which shows the level of complexity her relationships have. It is something we should all aspire to achieve, whether we have marriage in our card or not.
Teach you how to be angry gracefully and respectfully
Amritha is the epitome of grace and respectfulness in Thappad. Despite being angry with Vikram, she chose not to raise her voice or verbally abuse him, until in one scene in the movie when she was provoked. She was the one to take the high road and remain civil, which is something Vikram and his family (his brother) were not particularly fond of.
According to law, Vikram had physically abused her (yes, a slap counts as abuse), and yet she did not press any charges until much later in the movie (when she was provoked), much to the chagrin of her lawyer. Throughout the movie, she wanted to remain in friendly terms with Vikram and his family. Despite being wronged by Vikram’s family, she chose to include them in her unborn child’s life.
While many, who watched the movie, felt Amritha should not have been involved with them later, her actions show that she choose love over hate. She shows us how we can remain angry without losing our and hurting others’ dignity and hearts.
Conclusion
Thappad is a must-watch movie for every Indian household. For, it has something to teach everyone. Rarely, do we come across such a wholesome and holistic story from Bollywood, these days, that goes beyond its core premise. Studying a spectrum of relationships and a subtle portray of societal norms and customs and patriarchy, Thappad is a movie that one should definitely watch before getting married.
You can watch the movie on Prime Video. Watch Thappad movie trailer below:
Have you watched Thappad yet? What do you think of Amritha and Tapsee Pannu’s portrayal of the character? Hit me up in the comments below!
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