Taapsee Pannu-starrer Thappad released on 28 February and while the film might be about a slap that triggers Taapsee’s character, we can’t ignore all the subtle traits of Vikram (played by Pavail Gulati) who’s so sexist yet so sanskaari that he will remind us of most men around us.
All through our lives, we have met men who think they are liberal, feminist and forward-thinking. But are they really?
When Pavail’s character, Vikram, sees Dia Mirza’s character driving off in a new car, he nonchalantly says, “Phir se nayi gaadi. Yeh karti kya hai?” (A new car, again. What does she really do?). Vikram’s reaction isn’t just a statement, it’s a judgment that he probably wouldn’t pass had it been a man driving the same car. But Amrita’s (played by Tapsee Pannu) savage and one word reply means so much more - “Mehnat (hard work),” she says. Her response underlines the often unacknowledged truth that a woman can work as hard as a man can and afford the same kind of luxuries.