We live in a society where a woman is expected to leave her everything and priorities her marriage. Her life revolves around her in laws and her husband. She is expected to leave her career, sacrifice her choices and rebuild her priorities. But the same doesn't apply to the men. He continues to live his life the way he lived before. 

Thappad is a story of all women through the prospect of four women and their struggle with the patriarchial society.

 Amrita, a housewife who does everything that is expected from a wife and a daughter in law. She wakes up early in the dawn, makes tea for herself, check up on her mother in law's health, wake up her husband, serves him breakfast, runs after him till the door while he hurried for his work. She does all these things happily by giving up her dream to be a dancer. She loved her husband and didn't portray him as an abuser except that humiliating slap in the party. And the most shocking part was him expecting her to move on and forget. She choosed to walk away from the marriage where there was no respect. 

Netra Jaisingh who despite being an activist and a lawyer was stuck in a toxic marriage herself where she was physically and sexually abused by her husband. Until one day, she realises her worth while cycling alone that... she doesn't need to be emotionally dependent on any man. She recognizes her value while fighting the case of Amrita and decides to take charge of her life.

Amrita's house help who works day and night but, at night when she returns home gets brutally hit by her alcoholic husband. She considered it normal until she saw Amrita fighting for justice for "one slap". At the end, she gathers her courage and says her husband "she isn't going to work and is seen dancing alone."

Women like Shivani, who is a widow are often looked down by society for independtly taking their own decision and for sitting at the front seat of their life. The society can't see such women going ahead of man. Vikram taunts her saying "isne phirse nayi gaadi li hai?" The same Vikram is seen pleading her to lie in the court and help him claim he never was wrong, to which she strongly denied, setting an example for all out there.

Thappad showed us the mirror of our society where some or the other women, no matter whether she is independent or dependent, whether a career oriented person or a homemaker, faces domestic abuse either physically or mentally or sexually.