Ronald Dave Laing stated, “we are effectively destroying ourselves by violence masquerading as love.”
And that’s what every woman has built a delusion of – that an act of violence by a man is an expression of love. Isn’t that how it is justified? If a man hits a woman, it is considered to be an act of love because either it’s out of concern or out of the need to fulfill their sexual desires.
That’s what Taapsee Pannu starrer, Thappad is all about.
A slap which might not be a considered as a major act of violence, is actually an initiation of a gruesome crime of domestic violence or otherwise. A slap is often asked to be ignored, forgotten or moved on from, but never has it been considered to be taken seriously enough to be acted upon, because in the Indian society of being ideal, what is truly ignored is reality.
As per the National Family Health Survey, one-third of women aged between 15-49 have experienced physical violence and about 1 in 10 have experienced sexual violence.
That’s what Thappad stands tall for.
Thappad is a slap on the face of every man who believes that he is born with the right to vent out his frustration, anger and defeat on the supposedly weaker gender, because this notion too, speaks a lot about their idea of manhood and its establishment.
It is a slap on the face of every man who feels it’s okay to establish their superiority on a woman because that is what makes them feel empowered and therefore, the stronger sex in society.
It’s a slap on the face of every man who thinks that’s how it has been, and that’s how it will always be.
Thappad is a slap on the face of every woman who feels this is the norm – who has been taught that the matters of the house should remain coloured within its painted walls. To the woman, who has passed on the lineage of ideas that it is the woman’s duty to bear what comes in her way because there exists the vow of being together in sickness and in health.
If I truly pin it down, every man who finds himself courageous enough to raise a hand is truly sick and I believe that’s why the women are asked to be there and bear the violence, no matter what. (I smirk sarcastically as I write this.)
It is a wake up call for every woman who stands by silently, through it all, witnessing the insides of such a home.
Thappad is a slap on the face of society and the generalisation it has brought to the idea of violence, be it physical, verbal, mental or sexual expression of it. It is slap on the face of society who thinks everything needs to remain locked behind closed doors.
Simply because it’s the matter of one’s home what they fail to understand is – the ‘domestic’ part doesn’t really matter; violence is violence and being a silent spectator or victim fooled by the idea of it being love, is no worse than the act of domestic violence itself.
Thappad is a milestone which has set the course for things being better, because when it comes to violence, even once is not okay.