Seismic slap has divided opinions

THE slap has played a huge part in Bollywood films across the decades, with the most popular being delivered by an angry father, best friend, or annoyed lover.

Such has been the popularity of slaps in Hindi cinema that there was even an entire storyline dedicated to it with acclaimed 2020 movie Thappad.  

But perhaps none of these slaps have provoked as much debate as the one received by Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut, at Chandigarh airport recently.

A security guard named Kulwinder Kaur was so triggered by abhorrent lies the actress-turned politician had previously made about the Punjabi farmers protest that she allegedly slapped her.  

Ranaut had reportedly claimed that women participating in the farmers protests were paid `100 (£0.94), which was particularly triggering for Kaur because her mother was part of those genuine demonstrations.  

Whilst any kind of violence is never the answer and Kaur was clearly wrong for taking the law into her own hands, the incident has resulted in some interesting revelations.  

The biggest of these is just how hated Ranaut seems to be. Most social media posts after the incident were surprisingly in favour of Kaur, a constable with the Central Industrial Security Force, who was arrested and charged with assault.  

There was only a very limited amount of support from the film fraternity and influential people for Ranaut, despite her protestations. Many from around the world wanted to donate money to Kaur for slapping Ranaut and famous music director Vishal Dadlani even offered employment if she lost her job.  

Some Indians were handing out sweets in celebration of the slap and thousands in Punjab marched in support of Kaur, demanding all charges be dropped against her. Kaur also received support from political figures in Punjab. 

 Instead of gaining sympathy, Ranaut somehow managed to make things worse by equating what happened with terrorism in Punjab. The seemingly unhinged actress also reportedly compared her slap to thousands of Palestinians being killed in Rafah, and apparently thought she deserved a similar kind of sympathy from celebrities.  

Social media users then embarrassed the actress by revealing her old online post where she supported Hollywood actor Will Smith for slapping comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars after being insulted.  

Kulwinder Kaur

It was reported that Kaur had apologised, but this was denied by her brother. Meanwhile, Kaur’s mother said her daughter’s actions were absolutely justified. With her bizarre remarks of comparing the slap to terrorism in Punjab, the BJP might have made a huge mistake by allowing her into their party and getting elected as a politician. This is an indicator that she will likely make more inflammatory remarks, which would likely embarrass the party.  

Unlike in the past when the one who is getting slapped invokes the most sympathy, this one has had more supporting the attacker. What Kaur did was clearly wrong, and she will likely receive punishment that will far exceed the alleged crime, but she has received the kind of love and support that Ranaut doesn’t have. As things stand, the more Kaur is vilified and punished for the slap, the more famous she will become. There are also talks of her now joining politics. 

 Now some producers are planning a movie based around this slap, which has become globally famous. So don’t be surprised if you see a film based on the incident that is likely to be more sympathetic towards the one delivering the slap, even though any kind of violence is never the answer.