Shahid Kapoor’s and Kiara Advani’s film Kabir Singh might be minting money at the box office but the film has been hugely panned for depicting misogyny and violent behaviour towards women. The film has been slammed for its toxic masculinity and glorifying a good-for-nothing problematic uncouth and aggressive protagonist.
Now, director Sandeep Reddy Vanga has kicked a hornets’ nest by giving a bizarrely explosive interview which shows his regressive attitude towards women and skewed take on love and relationship. In a recent interview with an eminent film journalist, when Vanga was asked about the criticism that Kabir Singh faced, he replied that when you question people’s belief systems, they get angry. He said, “I feel all the criticism the film faced is pseudo. When you are deeply in love there is honesty in the relationship. If you don’t have the liberty of slapping each other, I don’t see anything in that relation.”
He also took a dig at female critics who said they felt uncomfortable watching the film in theatre because the men clap when the Kabir slaps Preeti. To this, Vanga said, “I think that these women were never in love and they never experienced it the right way. The female critics were only on the feminist side. They don’t understand the difference between description and objectivity.”
His interview has elicited severe backlash on social media with netizens including actor Gulshan Devaiah, screenwriter Gazal Dhaliwal, director Neeraj Ghaywan and author Aseem Chhabra slamming Vanga for normalizing violence towards women and brushing the word ‘consent’ under the carpet. Check out some of the tweets below:
There was a reason why the Nazis used film as propaganda!! A film is never just a film !! Some do have the power to influence society!! So Beware!!! #FCPostmortem
— Gulshan Devaiah (@gulshandevaiah) July 6, 2019
Hello Mr @imvangasandeep maybe you are pissed off & that’s why you’re saying what you are but now I am pissed too ..so here is how I articulate my pissed off ness to you “” #FCPostmortem guess I am never getting work from your side but I ll survive
— Gulshan Devaiah (@gulshandevaiah) July 6, 2019
“When you question their belief system, I think people get angry” - Sandeep Reddy Vanga. So @imvangasandeep questioning the belief system is a two way street sir and not your exclusive right . Btw many congratulations on your epic BoxOffice success #FCPostmortem
— Gulshan Devaiah (@gulshandevaiah) July 6, 2019
Utterly disrespectful! Insensitive comments on women and how they need to be treated. That Freudian slip with the name was the saving grace. https://t.co/3e8bhTb5Bv
— Neeraj Ghaywan (@ghaywan) July 6, 2019
This man's words are deeply disturbing, to say the very least - more disturbing than his film even. And that's no small feat. https://t.co/Av1geDKSkB
— Gazal Dhaliwal (@gazalstune) July 6, 2019
Sandeep Reddy Vanga: "...if you don't have that liberty of slapping each other, then I don't see anything there. So I feel these women [critics] who are talking about this [toxic masculinity], I feel that they were never in love." (From the interview on @FilmCompanion) pic.twitter.com/GBYqcioif4
— Deepanjana (@dpanjana) July 6, 2019
What an arrogant sexist prick this man #SandeepReddyVanga is! And insecure as hell. His film is a monstrous hit and yet he is rattled by what critics had to say. And no Mr. Vang’s, you do not call someone fat - that’s rude, offensive, inconsiderate and very politically incorrect.
— Aseem Chhabra (@chhabs) July 6, 2019
Thank you for speaking out Gulshan. Other folks in the industry also need to challenge this ass. https://t.co/fXOdUKnWeW
— Aseem Chhabra (@chhabs) July 6, 2019
One good thing has come from @anupamachopra’s interview with the sick misogynist #SandeepReddyVanga. A few women have come out and are talking about their #MeToo experiences. These are difficult conversations, but important reminders how much things have to change in India! https://t.co/2LTnLBXDk8
— Aseem Chhabra (@chhabs) July 6, 2019
Interview - Peaks!
Sandeep Reddy Vanga might become the most hated guy among Bolly critics. Sallu Bhai nothing. https://t.co/9UrMj5nCS1— Roopak (@OriginalRoopak) July 6, 2019
My ex-husband once slapped me across the face. I hit him back cause I couldn't take his shit. Later he made me feel guilty about "making him slap me". No Sandeep Reddy Vanga, it wasn't love. I've been in love. THIS wasn't that.
— Shirin (@shirinmehrotra) July 6, 2019
Was thinking #ArjunReddy/#KabirSingh represented a problematic character.
Appalled to know that it stemmed from #SandeepReddyVanga’s idiotic ideas about love.
PS: Violence against women/men is NOT love. Get that straight!
— Janani (@JananiKumar92) July 6, 2019
Slapping is physical abuse. You can't justify violence by projecting it as love. Love is a pure emotion & it commands mutual respect. Just b'coz you truly love someone doesn't mean you can slap or hit that person. Mental or physical abuse is regressive, not true love.
— EssN (@TheSNFactor) July 6, 2019
Watched this interview of Sandeep Reddy Vanga (Kabir Singh/Arjun Reddy director) and he said that, and I quote, "All the (female) critics bashing the movie have never experienced 'true' love if their partner didn't have the liberty of slapping them."https://t.co/fJJEeaEzVp
— tanushree (@IscoDeewane) July 6, 2019
(Source: Twitter/Film Companion)
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