Thappad is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Anubhav Sinha, which he also co-produced with Bhushan Kumar of T-Series. The film, starring Taapsee Pannu, was released in theatres on 28 February 2020. The film received highly positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for Pannu's performance, and was a moderate commercial success at the box office.
Plot
Amrita Sabharwal and Vikram have been happily married for several years. Amrita is a sparkling lady and a homemaker, who is shown to spend her days looking after Vikram and the house. They throw a party at home to celebrate Vikram's promotion that would have them relocate to London. At the party however, Vikram gets a call informing him that his promotion contract has been compromised for his junior. Incensed, he gets into an argument with his superior who he accuses of two timing him. When Amrita tries to break up the argument, Vikram angrily slaps her in front of everyone. The incident leaves her shaken; she gets petrified and realises that Vikram slapping her isn't what a normal husband would do.To add to everyone's surprise, Vikram doesn't apologise, stating that he was upset, she got in the way, and things happen. Unable to embrace the fact Vikram would do this to her, Amrita leaves for her parent’s home and stays there, leading to an argument between her and Vikram, as he thinks she's overreacting. He sends her a legal document to legally force her to return home. She files for divorce, shocking her family and relatives, who also believe she should get over it. Amrita doesn't make any claims for alimony; her stand is simply that Vikram has no right to hit her. She explains that she only asks for respect and the slap caused her to see all the other unfair things that she previously turned a blind eye to. She does not file for domestic violence charges. To make things more complicated, she discovers she is pregnant. Vikram and his lawyer play dirty and file frivolous charges against Amrita to try and intimidate her and get sole custody of the child, stating things like she is mentally unstable. Hurt, Amrita decides to file for the domestic violence charge against Vikram unless he agrees to a mutual consent divorce and joint custody of their expected child. Vikram and his lawyer agree to the terms presented by Amrita and settle for a mutual consent divorce. At a family ceremony to bless her pregnancy, Amrita speaks to her mother-in-law in front of everyone, explaining that she was hurt that on the night he slapped her, nobody in the family came to see her or asked once if she was okay; they did not even chastise Vikram, tell him he was wrong, or advise him to apologise. They simply told her to tolerate it to keep the peace. She mentions that she had lost her sense of identity. Her mother-in-law apologises for the family's mistakes, blaming their ingrained mentality about misogyny, and tells Amrita she is doing the right thing by taking a stand for herself. Vikram's superior informs him that the board changed their mind and Vikram got the promotion. He mentions how on the night of the party, even though Vikram was arguing with him, he did not slap his superior even once but raised a hand on Amrita who was trying to help him. Vikram realises he is in the wrong and that he never apologised to Amrita. When the two meet to finalise the divorce, he apologises to her properly and tells her that he rejected the promotion and quit his job. He explains that he will start again from scratch and will try to win her back by being someone who deserves her. They complete the formalities and part ways with a sense of renewed hope.
Anil Rastogi as Justice Jaisingh,Netra's father-in-law
Production
began on 6 September 2019 and ended on 16 October. The film was shot in various places of Uttar Pradesh mainly at Shalimar Paradise, Barabanki and other locations in Lucknow.
Promotion and release
The film was initially set for release on 6 March 2020, but was moved a week earlier to 28 February 2020 in order to avoid clashing with Baaghi 3, a big commercial release. On 31 January, an official trailer of the film was released by T-Series. On 11 February, a second trailer was released which showed Pannu breaking the fourth wall and asking viewers to report the video so that it gets blocked on YouTube.
Reception
Critical response
The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise towards its social message, screenplay, direction and performances, but criticism for the film's pace.
Box office
Thappad earned 3.07 crore net at the domestic box office on the first day. On the second day, the film collected ₹5.05 crore. On the third day, the film collected ₹6.54 crore taking total opening weekend collection to ₹14.66 crore. , with a gross of 36.44 crore in India and 8.10 crore overseas, the film has a worldwide gross collection of 44.54 crore.
Soundtrack
The film's songs are composed by Anurag Saikia and lyrics written by Shakeel Azmi and Sanah Moidutty. Additional verses of the song 'Ek Tukda Dhoop' appear only in the movie and these are not officially released in any of the digital platforms.
