A Thappad on the Unquestioned

"Just a Slap, par maar nahi sakta". Yes you can't slap her just because she is your wife, You can't slap her just because you are frustrated, you can't slap her because you are about to lose your dream job.

Thappad clearly points out the politics of social power, where the so- called vulnerable and the subjugated ones are always meant to be insulted and assaulted. You slap somebody to make them feel smaller than you or debase that person which everyone thinks is normal, but is actually not.

Amrita is a representative of many women. It was just respect and happiness that all she wanted in her life.But when Vikram slaps her, her life turns upside down.After marriage, she invested her life to become a perfect housewife, but that slap was a reality check for Amrita which brought back every wrongs that she presumed as right.And from that very moment,she realised that she no longer loves her husband whom she loved dearly. Amrita takes the bold step to divorce not just because she got slapped, but she can no longer love him the way she loved,and that one slap broke her world around Vikram which now only looks like a mended one even if she forgives.

Amrita is equally an individual as Vikram with dreams and choices,and they are bound together by a contract of marriage which should be built on love and respect and should not be an 'adjustment' system.Just like Amrita and other female characters many women give up their dreams to be a good housewife, but in return do they get what they deserve? They do not demand superiority over husband, all they need is equality,love,respect and recognition.This happens in every binary system in society. Thappad and Amrita demand the need to break all the unquestioned binary systems that we have been following and imposing and expect to uphold individual dignity, choices and self-respect. And remember"kai baar sahi karne ka result happy nahi hota".

A.C

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