The Indian film industry has been taking up topics that are crucial in our society today. From LGBTQ rights to domestic violence, everything that affects thousands & lakhs of citizens in their daily lives is portrayed in the form of a movie just to make people aware.
One such movie that is making headlines with its storyline is Taapsee Pannu starrer ‘Thappad‘. The movie has a strong stance on domestic violence that has been pretty much normalized in our society over the ages.
‘Thappad’ stars Taapsee Pannu & Dia Mirza & is written, directed & produced by Anubhav Sinha, got released on the silver screen this Friday. Its storyline revolves around the one slap that changes the entire life of a ‘happily married’ couple. The wife is left with a shattered belief in her marriage when the husband slaps one evening.
Even though the topic was strong & trivial enough to attract more & more audiences, the makers made sure that the marketing was done on point and there was no box left unticked.
Meet Amrita
Taapsee Pannu introduced her character to her followers on her Instagram account with a beautiful caption that described her journey doing the role.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8JK4vGJOb2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Ask The Right Questions
The makers made sure that the message of the movie was conveyed rightfully. They started asking the right question along with a clip from the movie. What this did was to make us question that what we have been considering ‘normal’ may not be the right thing after all.
Almost every third woman in India suffers domestic violence but chooses to not say anything as society tells us that it is a part of being married or in a relationship.
And the women who speak out have to deal with the cross-questions that try to hold them responsible for what happened with them. That is why we need to ask the right questions.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8BzYDjpr6Z/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8GoTj-HpWW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8JCRDfHDWV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Trailer Launch
The trailer of the movie was launched post the pre-buzz and it received a heartfelt response from everyone. The trailer promotion was so strong that at the end of the second trailer Taapsee asked the viewers to ‘Report the Trailer’ as violent content. The strategy was to make people understand the even though it is just one slap, it is violence nevertheless.
Thappad Trailer received about 1.2 million views on Youtube in two days. It was reported that Trailer #2 had to be taken down in 24 hours due to the audience response.
https://youtu.be/EnZLzFh-cDs
Happy ‘Violentines’ Day
The makers introduced a video of Taapsee Pannu which was a parody of how an arranged marriage meetings. In the video, both families are discussing how the soon to be bride is trained since her childhood to bear a slap of any & every kind.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/B8jNaRnpe2X/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Song Release
Ek Tukda Dhoop
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Ly5klp7FA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
The Speech That Matters
Taapsee Pannu did a bit with The Quint Hindi and shared a video on social media, Ikkis Thappado ki Salami. The speech emphasizes how society is head-on with gender bias and also how it played a part in normalizing domestic violence.
Brand Associations
The makers associated themselves with a lot of brands during the promotions.
Pee Safe
Radio Mirchi
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9CPQI-gtOl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
iDiva
https://www.instagram.com/tv/B9E1koYBtyT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Prega News
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9GUl9wA-A4/
The Disclaimer
This was probably the most creative aspect of Thappad’s marketing. This video expressed that how there is always a disclaimer for all the habits that are termed injurious to health such as smoking & drinking or which can have a traumatic effect such as animal abuse of graphic contents. But domestic violence is not categorized under any. This shows the perspective of the society regarding the topic.
Reviews & Response
Proud to support #Thappad!
Add your voice to the growing community of people who are breaking the silence around violence against women. Join #GenerationEquality & stand against gender-based discrimination! pic.twitter.com/osoDpBcU5H
— Nishtha Satyam (@SatyamNishtha) February 25, 2020
Thank you UN Women…. https://t.co/URhPXNexC8
— Anubhav Sinha (@anubhavsinha) February 25, 2020
#Thappad is the most important film of our generation. @anubhavsinha sir take a bow🙏🏻 Kudos @taapsee @pavailkgulati @Manavkaul19 @deespeak @mrunmayeelagoo #SoumikMukherjee #KumudMishra #RatnaPathakShah #NailaGrewal #MayaSarao @farewellwaltz. Must watch! It’s a master class. 🙏🏻
— Ayushmann Khurrana (@ayushmannk) February 28, 2020
Ek karaara thapad to our mentality 👏🏻 @taapsee @anubhavsinha Can’t wait .All the best team #Thappad @pavailkgulati 🙏🏻 https://t.co/zS5N4SNXDY
— bhumi pednekar (@bhumipednekar) February 1, 2020
