Review of the reviews .

Keeping in tow with my usual attitude of rolling my  eyes in disapproval of almost every popular belief , I was almost successful in  avoiding to watch the movie ‘thappad’. One of the main reasons for not watching the movie was that I presumed the movie is going to be dark , dull and depressing . However after being persuaded incessantly  by my husband I agreed to watch it . I am glad that I listened to him . I was also clear in reminding him that this appreciation of choosing the movie to watch is only  an isolated event . 

The movie however was exactly opposite to my presumption . It was sophisticated , non- cacophonous and was subtle in handling intricate issues including martial rape . 

The movie deserved all the accolades and praises it received . 

However when the reviews of the movie are looked upon closely , it is difficult to miss the general tone that the protagonist was well liked by the audiences since she refuses to play dirty and doesn’t claim any maintenance from her husband . She relinquishes her legal rights of monetary maintenance , stridhan which are guaranteed by the statue. Legal rights are not optional . They are a result of struggle , evolution. To throw away the legal rights guaranteed to you by the lawmakers is a dangerous trend. Merely being in possession of rights is not sufficient.  The continuity of legal rights rests in its exercise. When the rights are handed down to us we become duty bound to ensure it’s protection and it’s propagation to the future generations.

So when the protagonist says that she doesn’t want to claim monetary maintenance guaranteed by law to her she sets a dangerous precedence for the numerous other women who are putting up a strong fight for their rights. Women who are vocal and aggressive about their rights are already deemed to be villains by the society . So when the protagonist denies to claim her share of maintenance from her husband it is very natural for a feudal and patriarchal society like ours  to appreciate and idolise her. !