Enkayaar, Bollywood Trade News Network

A slap on the cheek of Srisanth by Harbhajan Singh has all but finished the participation of Bhajji in the IPL for the current season. Slaps have an interesting association with the Hindi film industry as well. But for a slap that the famous director Kidar Sharma had given on the face of Raj Kapoor, when he had gone to Sharma to learn the craft of film making from him, Raj Kapoor may not have attained the status of cult hood that he enjoys today. This was the first slap to the son of famous Prithvi Raj Kapoor, at a time when he was ruling the roost. This slap stirred the soul of Raj Kapoor and he took it upon himself to prove to the world, more so to Kidar Sharma that he was made for films.

Interestingly enough, how many of us remember that it was Raj Kapoor, who was probably the first actor who slapped Nargis on the screen in AWAARA and it is considered one of the most novel manners in which passion has been portrayed on the screen. The sense of helplessness on the face of Raj Kapoor after slapping Nargis and the feeling of gratitude on the face of Nargis after receiving the slap conveyed the undercurrents of romance and passion brewing between them.

In a comic role also the slap has played an interesting role in the Hindi films. Sunil Dutt literally haunted Saira Banu with a hand held in the form of a slap for quite a time in the movie PADOSAN after he was at the receiving end the same. This scene was a major scene of the film. Slap has also been a trigger point for enactment of score of rape scenes in various Hindi films as the slap has been portrayed as a sleight and effrontery towards the manhood. Fortunately enough, this world view has changed in the Hindi cinema with the changing times.

One of the watershed roles that Vinod Khanna has essayed in his illustrious career has been in KHOON PASINA and there it was his style of slapping which defined his character in the film. Slap as a matter of fact was used as a form of fighting in the various action scenes of Hindi films. A slap also gave the much needed fillip to Anupam Kher's career when he received the same from Dilip Kumar in KARMA. It became a landmark scene for him and opened up the world of negative roles for him subsequently, which a SARAANSH was not able to do.

Slap has had interesting connotations in Hindi films, as it is a reflection of its position in the social nuances, and it has evolved over times in such a manner that now at least in Hindi films it has become a discounted commodity in the same manner as it has become a necessity in the day-to-day life of average Indian.