Dia Mirza has said she thinks director Anubhav Sinha’s Thappad is one of her greatest accomplishments career-wise.
Dia, who has previously collaborated with Anubhav in Dus and Cash, said the fact that someone from the industry thought of making this movie is a huge achievement in itself.
“Give me 10 more Thappads, and cast me as a chair, fan, floor or anything and I’ll be more than happy to do it. This is exactly what I felt the first day I went to Anubhav’s office. Our casting director Nandini Shrikent made a hesitant call to me, saying, ‘This is a very good film but I don’t know whether or not you would do this part, but my instincts tell me that you will do it.’ She then asked me to meet Anubhav. I met him and he just narrated one line to me and I was sold,” Dia said post screening of Thappad in Mumbai.
“I thought the fact that this story was being made in the industry was a big achievement in itself. I told Anubhav, ‘Since you’re making it, it’ll be a good movie.’ My trust in him has grown after Mulk and Article 15,” she added.
When asked if she didn’t have faith in him during Cash and Dus, Dia, without mincing her words, said, “No.”
Thappad, starring Taapsee Pannu and Pavail Gulati, focuses on a woman seeking divorce after her husband slaps her at a party.
“When I heard the thematic line of the film, I was like, ‘I have to be a part of this movie.’ It doesn’t matter whether I’m playing a mother of a 20-year-old or a 13-year-old. Nothing matters. What matters is the fact that this story is being heard. And, I stand by that. I’m so proud that Thappad is a part of my filmography,” Dia said.
The film forces the audience, well, to evaluate how often housewives are taken for granted. It also shows us how even the most sensible and respectable people can change just like that.
“This story is a conversation which its filmmaker wants to have with the audience. And, I believe that conversation has already started since so many people have watched the film. This is a very important film. It will have people of all age brackets thinking for long.”
Dia also pointed out, “Housewives are also called homemakers, it is such a valuable job. It is time we stop calling them housewives. We can call them homemakers.”