Anubhav Sinha: Thappad focuses on the Violence in a Relationship

It’s been a year since Taapsee Pannu and director Anubhav Sinha delivered Mulk, a story of a Muslim man (played by Rishi Kapoor) and his daughter-in-law (played by Taapsee Pannu) who try to prove their innocence after getting accused  of having ties with extremist groups. Ever since then the audiences and the critics alike have been eagerly waiting for the two power houses to collaborate again. 

Just a few months back, the filmmaker had announced his second collaboration with Taapsee, a movie based on what women want from a relationship. The movie is titled Thappad and is all set to be released on Women’s Day next year i.e., 8th March 2020. Produced by Bhushan Kumar, Thappad deals with a certain aspect of the man-woman relationship.

Talking about the movie, during an interview with Mumbai Mirror, the Article 15 director revealed, “We are halfway through the shoot and looking to wrap up by mid-October. The film is set in Delhi and we have shot extensively in Lucknow.”

The filmmaker, who will be jointly producing the movie with Bhushan Kumar, went on to share that the idea about the movie had been on his mind for a while. He explained, “It was while discussing it with Taapsee that I was convinced that the story had enough meat to be pursued further.”

Taapsee Pannu, who is currently gearing up for the promotions of her upcoming movie Saand Ki Aankh which also stars Bhumi Pednekar in the lead, had taken to her official social media handle and shared a photo of Sinha and her, where they looked like they were in deep discussion. Sharing the photo she wrote, “It’s gonna be difficult .... very difficult....”

Taapsee’s interest in the project was enough for Anubhav to develop the idea into a script with Mrunmayee Lagoo, fleshing out eight characters whose lives run parallel and converge at a particular point. 

“It cuts through a very important and wide cross-section of the society, dealing with different social strata. I can’t claim to have tackled all the issues women have to deal with, but we have covered several of them. At the end of the day, it is a film that deals with the dynamics of a man-woman relationship,” he elaborates.

Taapsee couldn’t help but share, that the women in the film are not just from diverse backgrounds but also from different age groups, “It’s a woman’s perspective on relationships, what they want, with a common thread linking them.”

Apart from her the other women who will be a part of the film are Ratna Pathak Shah, Tanvi Azmi, Dia Mirza, Geetika Vidya, Maya Sarao, Naila Grewal, Gracy Goswami and many more. Talking about the elaborate star cast, Anubhav shared, “There is also Kumud Mishra and several others. On the first day, we had as many as 15 actors on the set.”

As per Mumbai Mirror, a source close to the development revealed that while its about violence in relationships, it’s not gruesome violence but touches on aspects that are taken for granted in a man-woman relationship but shouldn’t be. Talking about the same, the director shares, “It’s a tragedy that we label women. We conveniently put them on a pedestal, then, use them. My film is not pro-feminists, it is about women. Period.”

Anubhav also revealed that Thappad is “inspired by the stories of my mother, sister, cousins and friends. This is happening all around us, but more often than not, we are so used to it, we don’t notice it. But this film will change your perspective and bring a difference in your life.”

When asked how does he view the #MeToo movement which exploded in our country last year after Tanushree Dutta’s allegations about Nana Patekar? He replied with “I think #MeToo almost became a movement but didn’t reach its logical conclusion. I don’t think it helped the women who should have benefitted from it.”

Stay tuned for more updates!

Credits: Mumbai Mirror