Theppu is the latest word to find its way to the Malayalam lingo, thanks to the umpteen number of trolls, tweets and the new ear-worm hit song ‘Thechille penne’ from the movie Role Models. ‘What is the actual meaning of Theppu?’, asked a female Twitteratti and what followed was a series of responses, both humorous and patronising.
Theppu is a colloquial term generally used amongst youngsters and though it literally means ‘ironing’, the latest description of the word means ‘to deceive or cheat’. Urban dictionary has defined it as ‘the act of crushing a person through sarcasm’. But with the release of the film Maheshinte Prathikaram, the character ‘Soumya’ played by Anusree in the movie got termed as the perfect example of the term Theppu, because the character chooses another man to live with over Mahesh in the hopes of a ‘better’ life.
A quick search through YouTube can lead to a huge number of short films that goes by names such as Theppu or Theppukaari, most of which has the common theme of women ditching men. Theppu has suddenly become a term to condescend women.
Actor Sajitha Madathil says, “Curbing such content, where terms like these are used to pull down a woman, should be part of the Censor Board. We are hoping that some legal solution takes care of such content. We should react to this the same way we react to on-screen abuse of women, may it be in tv serials or movies.” She adds, “What we see today in the form of unsavoury comments against women is an extension of all this. Visual media plays a major role in influencing children and gender sensitisation should begin here. It will be a slow process. Another solution to such content being made is to see that more women work in the field. A song such as ‘Thechille penne’ will never be written by a woman.”
Jayan Vannery, director of Ma Chu Ka, has named his next project Anuragam: The Art of Theppu. But he does not support the use of the anti-women words to get applause. “Theppu is a word used to define a person cheating another person. At least in my film it is not against women. Although this word is mostly associated with love affairs, it is also something that friends use between each other, to lighten a situation. But it is also true that many short film makers use this word against women to portray failed love affairs. I believe it is also because there are more boys or men in that particular field and they take these films from their point of view. If the script demands use of such words we have to show it, but using it to condescend women for hits is something I do not agree with.”
Lyricist M.R. Jayageetha opines, “When content such as this is written, or a song like this is written, more than the person who wrote it, I think it is the interest of the person who makes them write it. Earlier our language used to have a casteist undertone. There was a time in Kerala where it was not allowed to use words based on caste. What is saddening now is that even in such a progressive society, words like this is associated mostly with women. Be it a man or a woman, I believe that it is a human being getting cheated. I also support the fact that when it comes to art no content must be written to insult men or women.”
She goes onto say that what is being discussed currently is a shadow of the real issue. “The word theppu, if it is mostly used to insult women, is just a shadow of the real issues women face. Instead of addressing the real issue, there is no point in attacking the shadow,” she feels.
