Meghna Gulzar’s Next Chhapaak Gets Its Title From Her Father

After  a break of more than  a year Deepika Padukone  will  be back  before the camera to play a character  as far removed  from  Padmaavaat as  Ranbir Kapoor from Ranveer Singh.

Deepika  plays Laxmi Aggarwal ,  a  victim  of  an acid attack. Her prosthetics  for the  disfigurement that nearly  destroyed her  life before it was valiantly rebuilt,  are  now being  discussed by makeup experts. In the meanwhile the  film’s casting just became more  interesting with the talented Vikram Massey joining in  to play acid attack crusader and  Laxmi’s husband  AlokDixit.

 However it is the onomatopoeic title  Chhapaak, the splashy sound denoting a sudden and swift fall of  liquid,  that  is most intriguing.

The  word has never been used  in a film’s title  before and only once in a film song, and that was for Meghna’s father Gulzar’s  Hu-tu-tu where Lata Mangeshkar sang, Chai chap chai chhapaak chai . The lyrics written by Gulzar Saab were  the  reference point for  Meghna’s film’s title.

In Hu-tu-tu the splashing sound suggested fun and frolic. In Meghna’s film it signifies the moment when the victim’s world fell apart.