MID-DAY (November 4, 2019)

The success of Kabir Singh notwithstanding, Taapsee Pannu had unflinchingly criticised the Shahid Kapoor starrer for glorifying misogyny and toxic masculinity. In an earlier interview to mid-day, the actor had stated, "Kabir Singh has pushed back whatever good work we had done since Pink [2016] till now."

Now, it has been heard that the trailer of Pannu's next, Thappad, takes a dig at the film's director Sandeep Reddy Vanga's infamous comment in an interview where he had argued that a couple should have the liberty of slapping each other. A source reveals, "The film and the trailer have a dialogue that questions the notion that thappad is also a form of love. The line is an obvious reference to Vanga's remark that had received severe backlash on social media.

The source further adds, "Since the topic of debate coincided with their film's title, Taapsee, director Anubhav Sinha and writer Gaurav Solanki decided to include a scene that offers a counter-narrative. It was a fitting addition since Thappad explores different shades of man-woman relationships through the perspective of eight female protagonists, with violence against women being one of the themes. The said scene discusses the impact of popular culture on perpetuating ideas of domestic violence. The makers have cut a rough trailer so far, in which the reference remains intact."

mid-day reached out to Sinha, who had not responded till the time of going to press.