Just for a slap, you need a divorce? asks the defence lawyer to Amrita (Taapsee Pannu). Clear in her future course of action, Amrita says the impact is much more than a Thappad (slap).
That single line sums up the determination of the character. Much like the thundering lines of Amitabh Bachchan in the famous courtroom in PINK that a NO from a woman has to be construed as a NO irrespective of the circumstances. Interestingly, Taapsee Pannu had been at the receiving ends in both acts.
In her choice of roles and importantly in the execution, the effective communication of the body language effortlessly conveys the trauma of that slap happening in a celebration party. Her husband Vikram (impressive debut by Pavail Gulati) sees nothing of his act and only a reflection of his frustration upon getting to know that he had been denied his due in corporate politics.
Amrita decides to move away from Vikram as she sees it as an impending solution to the trauma she had been subjected to. She sees with reason that when the spirits were flowing freely and Vikram embroiled in a heated argument with his senior, much worse could have happened if she had not intervened.
Vikram does not repent for his act and moving on with a soft message that when he had invested so much of emotional investment in his career, losing his cool with his wife is only natural. When Amrita hit back that she has sacrificed so much for him including her career where she had it in her to be a Bharatanatyam dancer of repute.
The last straw for Vikram comes in the form of a legal notice, citing domestic violence as the root cause. Amidst all the chaos in the two families, Amrita is pregnant. The man claims his right that he will keep custody of the child. Well, one need not have to see the legal angle to know that the mother holds the right of the child.
The area where director Anubhav Sinha scores is in giving the desired space for each character. The maidservant narrates her daily ordeal where the husband beats her and says with the pride of having the licence to do so.
Without getting into the courtroom scenes, Anubhav tellingly makes the best use of every character and how things are viewed from each one's perspective. Is it not a prerogative for each individual to have the freedom to live the desired life?
In a wicked man's world, the women have suffered silently all along. Not just in the lower strata of society but also the affluents. Pitching his characters who have been taught the values of life, the director takes his time for the warm-up act to introduce them and does not rant or preach that divorce is not a solution. Women of the bygone era have put up with their spouses for the simple reason that problems get sorted out when time is the healer.
The movie may not have worked a decade or so. But in an era where marriage is not seen as an institution but only a convenience, it could strike a chord all over. Women are known to bear the pains of child marriage and what is a mere slap? could well be the question.
Taapsee standing tall at the face of advices pouring in from all quarters is the defining moment of the movie. Her body language is a giveaway that women need not have to take it everything lying down except in the biological acts.