Kabir Singh
Drama, Romance
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Soham Majumdar, Arjan Bajwa, Nikita Dutta, Suresh Oberoi
Director: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Story: Kabir falls madly in love with Preeti and when they can’t be together he goes on the path of self destruction.
Review: Early on in the film, Kabir spots a girl (Preeti) walking on campus and he declares to the whole college that she is his girl (‘ woh meri bandi hai’ to be exact) and that no other guy should come near her. The girl is oblivious to this. Later on, encountering her, Kabir promptly goes and kisses her on the cheek and his rationale for that is that no one saw them. (Charming guy!) The girl is just standing there, mute she doesn’t utter a single word.
There is no problem in portraying flawed characters on-screen those are the kind of characters the audience enjoys watching. It is the way these characters are portrayed that becomes problematic. When Kabir falls into the trap of substance abuse and becomes a raging alcoholic we can see that the director recognizes this flaw of Kabir as it comes out in his depiction of the character. However, when Kabir mouths the dialogue ‘ Healthy Chicks and good-looking chicks make for good friends because healthy chicks are like teddy bears’ we can see that this line is being uttered without paying heed to its disrespectful and disgusting meaning. The writers hope to generate laughs on lines like these that they perceive as funny, and the sad part is that they succeed.
Everyone in the film seemed to support Kabir and cover up for him. It was never established in the film that Kabir’s reckless and quite a few times immoral behaviour was wrong. Every film does not have to have a message, but at least it should not give out the wrong message. I am not saying everyone watching the film will be instigated to behave in a certain way, but yes a young boy sitting in the audience, seeing his idol threatening to throw a flower pot on someone coming to talk to him (simply because he was angry) and seeing the audience around him cheering the actor on may be incited to do the same. The director of this film, Sandeep Reddy Vanga compares the scene where Kabir warns a classroom full of guys to stay away from “his girl” with the scene of a marriage where a girl and boy tie the knot In front of hundreds of people. Mr. Vanga desperately needs a lesson on the meaning of consent. Clearly, the director doesn’t feel his character or its portrayal is problematic. Now, as the title of the film leads us to believe, this story is about Kabir Singh. We never get any real insight into Preeti’s character. What is she feeling? It is easy for us to blame Kabir because he is the more dominant one, the more aggressive one. But, Preeti also never protested against this behaviour of his. Though she eventually falls in love with Kabir, it certainly did not seem to be love at first sight for her like it was for him. So why is she just standing there, dumbstruck, and letting him demonstrate his toxic masculinity? A story about two people passionately in love is always engaging, especially in a film like this which is so high on energy. However, the second half of the film drags a bit and tends to get carried away. Especially when it shows an established actress developing romantic feelings for a junkie. (Love really shouldn’t be that blind) So then what works in the film’s favour? The soulful music, the relationships ( not just between Kabir and Preeti but also between Kabir and his friends), and of course the well-etched-out character of Kabir! You may not agree with his actions but you do want to know how far he will go in his quest for love. The performances in the film are its highlight.
Shahid Kapoor immerses himself into the character of Kabir, probably an all-consuming role for him, and he delivers in every frame of the film without fail. Kiara Advani has less to do but she manages to make quite an impact.
If you are able to buy into the love story of these two seriously flawed characters then Kabir Singh is watchable, (barring some rather uncomfortably misogynistic scenes in the first half).
Comments
And of course, it's brilliant and to the point!🙌 👏