Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani starrer Kabir Singh might have crossed over Rs 200 crore at the box office but the film has received tremendous flak for its misogynistic and violent behaviour towards women. Several critics as well as celebrities like Sona Mohapatra, Vani Tripathi Tikoo and Sharmin Segal voiced their opinions on the film and slammed it. However, director Sandeep Reddy Vanga has strongly defended the film and went as far as feigning surprise at the negative comments received over his film.
In a recent interview with an eminent journalist, Sandeep said, “When I started this film, I knew it would be a big success at the box office, but I never thought that the rage would be repeated, and it has multiplied four times now.” However, he called the criticism as “bizarre” and “unhealthy”. Talking about the allegations of toxic masculinity the film depicts he said, “When you are deeply in love and deeply connected to a woman (and vice versa), if you don’t have the liberty of slapping each other, then I don’t see anything there."
Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Explaining about a scene in the film where Kabir Singh physically assaults his girlfriend Preeti, Sandeep said, “She slapped him without a reason, at least Kabir had a reason to slap her. If you can’t slap, if you can’t touch your woman wherever you want, if you can’t kiss, I don’t see emotion there."
He even had a bone to pick with the critics who slammed Kabir Singh and said, “Probably they never experienced (love) in the right way. It's new to them. For the Telugu film, people criticised numerous aspects in the film. But here, they were only on the feminist side, they didn’t speak about anything else. They probably hate me.
Kiara Advani and Shahid Kapoor in a still from Kabir Singh
Irrespective of the criticism coming Kabir Singh’s way the film has continued to mint money at the box office ever since it hit theatres on June 21. It has become Shahid’s first film to cross the coveted Rs 100 crore mark.
(Source: Anupama Chopra)
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