Anam Seraj

If you're thinking the film is based on Domestic Violence, hold that thought, you've just touched the surface of a deep pit of patriarchy that Anubhav Sinha has tried to introduce you to. The movie introduces you to different characters played in different contextual relationships while they hold orange candy and life looks perfect. The story begins on a light happy note however if you aren't conditioned to accept the patriarchal norms which most people are, you might be able to notice minute details that points out that things are not so candy flossy as it may seem. Little details from the fact that Amrita (Tapsee) wakes up before her husband and sleeps late at night and yet her mother in law questions (who btw is loving enough) questions whether his son slept. You notice a pattern where Amrita's life stays stagnant and revolves around her husband and mother in law. But as the story proceeds, whether in the form of that one slap or through the background stories of different characters and their twisted relationships, you realise that all these stories lead you to a common pattern of male entitlement. However, Sinha doesn't want to force his thought process on you, but rather attempts to shake your beliefs to question yourself instead of blindly accepting what he thinks and thus, I believe waa concious choice to keep the story confined to one slap and his choice to not villanise the male protagonist. The dialogues are hard hitting, the scenes are powerful and the actors are brilliant in their skin. The movue towards the end summarizes exactly what Sinha tried to potray. The beauty is in the depth and the minute details. There is a lot more to unravel in Thappad. Watch Tapsee in and as the hope of Bollywood. A MUST WATCH.

You'll either hear extremely positive reviews or completely bashing articles for an Imtiaz Ali movie and this one is no different. I personally believe the trailer and interview reveals too much and so most part of the movie, was predictable enough. For me, the film made a stronger connection through Raghu and Leena and Hooda's narration. As per, Zoe and Veer, I feel Ali skipped a lot of portions in their relationship that would have made a stronger connection with the audience but it couldn't. Zoe and Veer had an unexplored chemistry and Veer had a depth that could have been exploited more than some randomly thrown out of place dialogues. Veer and Zoe couldn't make a stronger connection, as Raghu and Leena did perhaps because the movement skipped to the serious part too fast without really exploring the journey of how they reached there. Veer and Zoe met each other at a disc, barely exchanged words and the next thing we know Zoe has become special for Veer by bare sexual tension which he doesn't want to explore because he wants more from the relationship. All of that sounds romantic but their journey from a hook up to "andar wali " Zoe ka pyaar were depicted in mere bike rides and the two holding hands and entering the cafe together. We fail to understand why Zoe who was as career driven as she was reached to this point because there was no narration of how she reached there except for Hooda's contribution as a wingman. On the other hand, Raghu and Leena says a lot about love within a very shot screen space. There were moments where I cried. Maybe an Imtiaz Ali movie isn't really about predictions. It is about feeling what the characters are feeling and the movie delivers that promisingly. You feel the emotions of the characters in the second half. Kartik Aaryan undoubtedly has delivered the best performance of his career. Sara Ali khan was too loud but you can't blame her because her character in itself was pretty loud. Zoe as a character can be annoying and so if you were annoyed by Zoe, then probably Sara played it convincingly enough. Arushi Sharma was a breath of fresh air. If you're in an emotional space right now, you'll definitely connect to it.