Was Slapped Seven Times While Filming ‘Thappad’, Reveals Taapsee

The team had decided early on that the scene in which she’s slapped will not be staged, she said.

Taapsee Pannu’s character in Thappad may have been prompted to see her relationship in a new light after a single slap, but the actor says that in real life, she had to be slapped seven times. In an interview with Bombay Times, Taapsee said that her co-star Pavail Gulati, who plays her husband in the film, was so nervous while shooting the scene in which he slaps her at a party, that it took him seven takes to get the shot right.

She explained that director Anubhav Sinha and the crew had decided early on that the slap wouldn’t be staged. “Sir (director Anubhav Sinha) had very clearly said, ‘You have to hit her in real.’ I kept telling him to just hit me properly the first time around, otherwise we would have to do retakes,” she said.

The scene took a toll on Pavail, who was extremely anxious in the days leading up to the shoot. “Two days before we were supposed to shoot the scene, he began having panic attacks,” Taapsee said. “He was so nervous because he’s a very sweet guy and we’ve not known each other before this. So, it was very awkward for him, I’m sure, to just slap me like that.”

Anubhav was insistent that the slap must look as realistic as possible. But in his nervousness, Pavail kept missing. “Then there were certain slaps that have a certain impact, that look more real. Some feel real, some look more real. I think by the second or third slap, my face really began to burn. But sir (Anubhav Sinha) said that on camera, it wasn’t looking like it made an impact and it needed to be done with force. So I got slapped seven times. But I was mentally prepared for it the day we read the script,” Taapsee recalled.

Thappad is a film about a woman who decides to divorce her husband after he slaps her. This turns out to be an uphill task as she contends with family, friends and even members of the legal system who try to convince her not to act so hastily for “just one slap”.