And then she walked away from everything that made her feel that she deserved any less …How many times have we heard this clichéd phrase while empowering the female energy altogether..But this movie clearly stands apart from the rest with its clear power packed dialogues shooting out from Tapsee Pannu;”Just a slap, par nahi maar sakta.”It manages to outright demand the affection, love and respect a woman deserves for the number of years she has put in or rather “invested”, as the movie puts it , in keeping the family together, running the entire household and taking care of every possible thing that needs to be addressed.
The movie starts with the daily life of a happy “normal family” , showing scenes that every Indian viewer would love to see. The wife waking up before the rest of the family , the maid looking upto her for treating the former well , the husband and mother-in-law depending on her entirely , for reminding them of the tiniest of things they are missing out on. It further highlights the ambitiousness that the husband harbours and the docility of the wife, who is more than happy to ‘participate’ in fulfilling her man’s dreams , and in the process has forgotten that her favourite colour is yellow and not blue.Her happy life comes crashing down when one blissful night , at a house party thrown to celebrate her husband’s London business trip , she gets slapped amidst all other guests ,by none other than the man she had been living with and living for all these years.It happened in the heat of the moment when the husband was having an argument with the Boss ,is what everyone thought she would assume and let go of this episode.
This is the point where she puts her foot down. This is the point, where through dwelling deep into all those years that she had put into the family, she gains insights into many things. The film also portrays the unshakeable and strong belief that a father has on his princess and decides to stand by her through thick and thin, and the stereotypical Indian mother trying to teach her daughter that women are hardwired to sacrifice, adjust and move on. After having heard multiple opinions from multiple people, including friends, relatives and even lawyers, Tapsee’s decision gains strength by the day. Despite her husband trying his best to get her back through threats, blackmails and petitions, she doesn’t bow down to his wishes. She is shattered yet strong , knowing fully well that no one attempted to make the chauvinistic husband realize that he was meant to feel guilty and genuinely sorry and respect what she went through .Instead , everyone advised her to forget the episode, not over react and make a big fuss out of it and ‘move on’.
The movie ends with a pregnant Tapsee finally getting a divorce in the court room, firm to take care of her child and only share custody with the father, having confidently learnt both driving cars and making parathas , her husband apologies about his behaviour and promising to be a better human being and father after having realized that the home in London which was supposed to be his dream destination , never felt like home without his wife, and the family and kith and kin finally respecting Tapsee’s decision of choosing her self-respect over her marriage , the comfort and security of being a ‘bade ghar ki bahu’ and everything that was offered to her before she received the “Thappad”
