A stark warning! mild spoilers are right ahead!! But honestly stated, these are the very spoilers that may make you curious to watch the film Thappad. Tapsee Pannu has delivered a superlative performance in this must watch movie. Director Anubhav Sinha keeps the narrative absolutely slice-of-life and there are some crackling moments that capture our deeply harbored and carefully nurtured prejudices in a striking way.

No, it's not just about thappad! (Even if it was just about thappad for Tapsee's character to stand her ground, we would have rooted with equal gusto for the lady) But TBH, it is about the things we take for granted and even go onto label them as "normal" without even realizing something is horribly wrong in dictating them in the first place! Don't miss these moments that hold mirror to how we as a society stick to the fabricated norms, the way we assume our gender roles and how blindly we play them even if they assault our standing as an individual as well as as a collective! Do care to read between the following lines.

Ye sadak par kyu utarti hai gaadiyan lekar? (The husband quips casually, clearly hinting at the fairer sex and commenting about their driving skills. Director Anubhav Sinha refers to how women when put in the driver's seat, in every aspect of life, make men restless, fidgety and almost always uncomfortable.)

Isne nayi gaadi kharid li....Kya karti kya hai ye? ( Again a casual remark that tumbles out of the husband's mouth when he sees a spanking new car flashing in the front-yard of his neighour. Mind you that neighbor is a woman (played by Diya Mirza) And that says a lot! Here's the man in the spiffy suit and the 'Numero Uno' in the corporate ladder. While he can 'earn it' with hard work and diligence, a woman's success is easily subjected to envy and even casual remarks!)

Pehle paraathein toh banana sikhlo theek se! (When  Tapsee's character expresses the desire to learn how to drive, the hubby has a casual retort at the ready-the one that dictates how easily we put genders and the roles they play into boxes!)

Kya woh soya aache se kal raat? (enquirers Tapsee's mother-in-law about her son conveniently, circumventing the trauma inflicted on the bahu who received a tight thappad and spent a sleepless night to come to terms with the  sudden assault)

You know right how hard I have worked for this, aur mujhe kaise lag raha hai (says the hubby to convey how his much-deserved promotion was halted abruptly. And his confession comes the very next morning, post the thappad episode in order to justify his anger without even caring to apologize even for onc

Pyar mein thodi bahot maar-peet toh hoti hai, ye toh expression of love hee hai na sir! (exclaims a hapless friend to justify his friend's slapgate bravado. No! we are not even drawing parallels with Kabir Singh, you see!)

Beta khana toh khaake jaate! (Instead of taking the guilty to task the concerned mother played by Ratna Pathak Shah enquires the son-in-law if he has eaten at all!)

Tum sirf khadi raho yahan par, 'thank you' mein apne aap le loonga (You may be disgusted at the chuckle you are likely get from the audience, but this line comes in a scene where a fiercely ambitious husband wants to have sex even when the wife is not in the mood and she is getting irritated by the relentless advances the husband is making. This ain't cutesy banter between love birds. It's the battle of sexes played out in a haunting way! And the man thinks he is entitled to everything!)

Lawyer se tum activist kab ban gayi pata hee nahi chala (How smartly this line gets dished out when a lady lawyer gives everything she can with so much passion and integrity to fight the case for her client. Her retort is equally beautiful. Don't miss that one in the film!)

Zyada zaroori sawal ye hai ki aisa hua kyun? (A defiant father of Tapsee's character (played by the ever so dependable Kumud Mishra)  conveys so much with his silence, with his apt pauses as indeed with his carefully measured words. He has no qualms in asking the most relevant question when Tapsee's husband keeps insisting and goes on repeating the excuse- 'Oh, shit happens'.)

There are many gems peppered throughout the film-sometimes done subtly while at other instances they are pressing and hard-hitting.  If you have watched 'Thappad' mention in the comment section below which are you favourite moments and the lines that have been woven into the narrative beautifully for the impact!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 28, 2020 07:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).