Bollywood Revisit: Kabir Singh

 It has almost been two years since Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani starrer 'Kabir Singh' released at the box office. The movie, which happens to be the Hindi adaptation of 'Arjun Reddy' is directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga. The very day the movie was released for the audience, it became a hit. No doubt, the music was melodious and the storyline had us crying our eyes out at the theatre, remembering that one person. 

 Shahid Kapoor as an actor has portrayed the character with accuracy and class. The actor who was popularly known as the 'chocolate boy' now played the role of an overly aggressive individual with a drug problem. And as for Kiara Advani, it is hard to imagine any other actress play the role of Preeti with sheer innocence and dedication. 

Like many others, I also became a fan of the movie and wondered what it would be like if I had a boyfriend like Kabir. But thank god! my craze was short-lived and I did not bump into anyone like Kabir. Hold on, let me tell you why. 

The movie released in June 2019, the same year I was about to start college. The portrayal of the average college life in Delhi had me clapping my hands in excitement. But, by now we know what 'real' college life is like. The movie began with Kabir sleeping on the terrace, waking up as the phone rings with a call from his prospective hookup. Let's just skip to the part when Kabir forces the woman to undress with a knife pointed at her when her fiancee reaches her door. The opening scene gave us an obvious insight into the character, but this is not all. 

Throughout the course of the movie, Kabir portrays violent and aggressive behaviours even in the presence of his loved ones. For instance, during the football match, he ends up thrashing some players of the opponent team, and later, when called to be reprimanded, he throws a similar attitude at the dean of the college in a class full of students leading to his suspension, or we can say, him deciding to leave the college because of an ego clash with the dean.

 The very same day Kabir sees Preeti (Kiara Advani) and instantly falls in love with her, instructing other boys in the college to not show interest in her or face dire consequences. During the entire course of their relationship, we hardly see Preeti's character utter a word. The character is portrayed as highly dependent on Kabir for something very basic, her own protection and making friends. Kabir is also shown to have major issues with Preetis girlfriends and roommates and is often seen ordering them to take care of Preeti. The question is, do women really tolerate their boyfriends being authoritative over their close friends? I guess not. The movie aims to glorify an unhealthy and toxic romance in the name of undying love that breaks the shackles of society. 

Fast forward a few years, Kabir reaches Preeti's house but witnesses the cold attitude of her family. Later, the couple is caught being intimate by Preeti's father and instead of being apologetic, he creates a scene. The character is also seen cussing at his girlfriend's father for being what? Her father? 

The drama goes on for two days until Kabir creates a scene at Preeti's house again, making derogative remarks at her parent's relationship, slapping her followed by giving her a deadline of six or seven hours to convince her parents. However, Preeti marries someone else, like she should, making Kabir realise what he lost. The second half of the movie shows how Kabir deals with the breakup with the support of womanising and drugs, to an extent that it ends up impacting his health and career. 

The character of Kabir's best friend, Shiva, played by Soham Majumdar received appreciation for setting the goals of an ideal friendship. But for how long are friends supposed to deal with a person's overly aggressive behaviour? 

No doubt that the movie and especially the performances are great, but the kind of message it gave to the young generation is to be questioned. Through Preeti's character, deep-rooted male chauvinism and patriarchy were glorified. After the movie was released, many young boys wanted an aggressive personality like Kabir's for themselves and wished to be with girls like Preeti who did not have a voice and did what their boyfriends wanted or told them to do with no questions asked. Unreal! isn't it? 

Women today are vocal and are conscious of their choices, and as a young woman, I would not tolerate a partner like Kabir who'd disrespect my choices and my friends and family. A successful relationship demands that both partners be equal and have respect and consideration for each other and their choices respectively which seemed to be lacking in Kabir and Preeti's relationship. 

Romance is beautiful, but setting unrealistic romantic expectations for the younger generation and indirectly promoting patriarchy and male chauvinism through the main character is what bothered many. Overall, the music was soulful and the performances were unbeatable. A good movie if watched as a method of escapism but might wreak havoc on future relationships if taken in the literal sense.