Is Thappad’s Trailer A Slap On Kabir Singh? This Is How Twitterati Reacted
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For those uninitiated, Kabir Singh is a movie directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga that features Shahid Kapoor playing an extremely aggressive and misogynistic character. While the movie collected a lot of money at the box office (approximately 379.02 crores), many reviews were quick to call the movie out for its deeply flawed main character, Kabir. In a review by a leading newspaper, the character was called “a bully, an abuser of women, an insensitive lout, an alcoholic surgeon, and a foulmouthed hothead”. After the film struck a sour note with a lot of people, the director was called out for his misogynistic statements against women during an interview. The trailer for the movie Thappad seems to be an apt reply to his ridiculous statements. Read on to find out what the trailer is about and why this movie has to do well at the box office:
Bringing Issues That Are Considered Taboo To The Forefront
A few days ago, the trailer of the Anubhav Sinha movie, Thappad, starring Taapsee Pannu in the lead role was released. The trailer was based on the concept of domestic violence and how women are expected to “put up with the abuse” as it is their “duty”. The incredible part about this trailer is how Taapsee firmly looks at a lawyer and says, “Just a slap. Par nahi maar sakta.” in a brave tone despite what she’s been through. To put it simply, even if it’s just one slap, it still counts as domestic violence.
When questioned by renowned film critic Anupama Chopra, Sandeep Reddy Vanga said that “a little bit of violence” is part and parcel of a relationship. This did not sit well with many social media users and they agreed that violence should not be accepted, under any circumstances. One Twitter user stated, “Liked #ThappadTrailer. Making intellectual discourse mainstream. Such movies must be made at a time when films like Arjun Reddy/Kabir Singh are trying to normalize misogyny, abuse, toxic masculinity. Kudos to @taapsee for championing progressive cinema.”
Read some of the tweets below:
A Subtle Dig At Kabir Singh?
There is a scene in the trailer for Thappad that mirrors what Sandeep Reddy Vanga said earlier when he said hitting each other is a normal part of relationships. A lawyer in the films stated “When you’re truly in love, thodi bahut maar peet toh zaroori hai naa, sir?” which is an obvious reference to the Anupama Chopra interview of Sandeep Reddy Vanga. Taapsee Pannu puts on a brave face in the trailer as she faces the ire of not just her family and friends, but the cops and layers as well. The trailer seems to do a very good job of revealing just a few cuts of the storyline and leaving the viewers at the edge of their seats. We want to be invested in Taapsee’s character’s life. She seems to play a very naive young woman who initially seems very much in love with her husband but as the story further unravels, we see cracks start to appear in her story. The trailer seems to leave you with an anxious feeling and things seem to fall apart pretty quickly.
This isn’t Taapsee’s first foray into playing the role of a strong, modern and level-headed woman. In the movie Manmarziyaan, she plays a young woman who has to pick between the man she loves and the man who can provide her with everything she ever wanted and security. In Pink, she plays Minal, a self-sufficient and independent single woman living in Faridabad with her friends. Before she received mainstream success after the release of Pink, Taapsee primarily worked in Telugu and Tamil films. The actress made her movie debut in 2010 with the Telugu film Jhummandi Naadam.
In Conclusion
The fact that Kabir Singh did so well at the box office spoke volumes about the type of entertainment a younger generation is looking up to. While having slightly flawed characters as protagonists do make for an interesting film, Kabir Singh takes things too far. We’re hoping for more films that draw attention to the plight of women across the country. A topic like divorce should not be frowned upon and should be discussed openly. Thappad will be out in theatres on the 28th of February. Let us know all your thoughts on this article in the comments below.
