Shahid Kapoor Reacts To Glorifying Toxic Masculinity In Kabir Singh!
Actor Shahid Kapoor says his film Kabir Singh portrays a flawed man with all honesty and if the audience only wants to watch nice characters, cinema won't go far.
News
oi-Swikriti Srivastava
By Pti
Actor
Shahid
Kapoor
says
his
film
Kabir
Singh
portrays
a
flawed
man
with
all
honesty
and
if
the
audience
only
wants
to
watch
nice
characters,
cinema
won't
go
far.
Kabir
Singh
is
the
remake
of
the
Telugu
hit
Arjun
Reddy,
directed
by
Sandeep
Reddy
Vanga,
who
has
also
helmed
the
Hindi
version.
While
the
film
became
a
rage
quickly
after
its
release
in
2017,
it
was
criticised
for
glorifying
toxic
masculinity
and
for
using
anger
as
a
tool
to
justify
the
titular
character's
abuse
of
women
and
people
around
him.
When
asked
if
the
criticism
played
on
his
mind
before
he
started
with
the
Hindi
film,
the
director
told
reporters,
"Anger
is
a
very
special
quality.
There
is
nothing
wrong
in
using
anger
as
a
tool.
It
can
be
used
in
anyway
an
individual
wants.
I
don't
think
the
opinion
of
critics,
what
they
mentioned
during
the
Telugu
film
(was)
playing
in
the
back
of
my
mind."
Responding
to
the
criticism,
Shahid
said,
"We
are
very
hypocritical
about
how
we
tend
to
look
at
cinema
made
in
India.
"We
then
watch
things
made
internationally
and
praise
them
for
the
fact
that
they
are
so
honest,
straight
and
not
trying
to
be
politically
correct
all
the
time.
Cinema
is
meant
to
showcase
different
people.
It's
not
about
wonderful,
perfect
people.
I
think
we
all
are
imperfect
in
our
own
ways.We
all
have
grey
areas
within
ourselves,
we
go
through
good
and
bad
phases,"
he
said.
The
actor,
who
was
speaking
at
the
trailer
launch
of
the
film,
said
everyone
has
been
angry,
hurt
and
negative
at
some
point.
"To
me,
watching
a
film
like
'Kabir
Singh'
will
help
understand
that
when
you
allow
yourself
to
be
affected
by
those
things,
it
can
take
you
on
the
path
of
destruction.
It
can
warn
you
from
going
in
that
route.
"For
people
who
might've
been
there,
it
can
be
therapeutic.
Cinema
acts
as
a
medicine.
If
you
see
something
you
relate
to,
it
helps
you
have
catharsis
of
sorts."
The
Padmaavat
star
said
for
him,
Kabir
Singh
is
a
cathartic
film.
"It
makes
you
honestly
go
through
that
journey
of
a
man,
without
trying
to
sugar
coat
it,
because
then
that's
being
manipulative.
Sandeep
has
made
an
honest
film
and
people
should
watch
it
knowing
that.
"If
people
only
want
to
come
and
see
people
going
'hey
hey
ha
ha'
then
cinema
won't
go
far.
We
need
to
be
able
to
make
real
films."
When
asked
about
the
treatment
of
aggression
in
the
original
and
if
the
makers
avoided
it
in
the
remake,
Shahid
said
the
interpretation
of
films
with
evolving
times
cannot
"always
show
the
right
thing."
"I
did
'Jab
We
Met'.
Who
was
the
aggressive
character
in
the
film?
I
played
the
submissive
character.
In
'Padmaavat',
I
was
playing
much
more
quieter
character
and
now
I've
done
'Kabir
Singh'
where
I
am
playing
an
aggressive
character."
When
prodded
further
about
how
his
character
is
territorial
towards
women,
Shahid
said
in
college
there
are
alpha
males,
men
who
feel
they
have
a
sense
of
territorial
ownership
over
a
certain
place.
"There
are
other
men
who
aren't
so
aggressive
in
their
behaviour.
Some
films
depict
those
kind
of
characters,
this
film
depicts
this
kind
of
character."
However,
when
asked
specifically
if
he
justifies
the
acts
of
his
character,
the
actor
said,
"You
see
the
film
and
see
what
happens
to
him.
Tommy
Singh
(in
'Udta
Punjab')
does
much
worse
things
than
'Kabir
Singh.'
If
I
start
justifying
characters,
I
can't
be
an
actor."
Kabir
Singh,
also
featuring
Kiara
Advani,
is
slated
to
release
on
June
21.