“I Would Not...”: Shahid Kapoor Says Men Like Kabir Singh Exist And Girls Fall In Love With Them
Shahid Kapoor has opened up about playing an unlikeable character in ‘Kabir Singh’, co-starring Kiara Advani.
Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s directorial venture ‘Kabir Singh’, the official Hindi adaptation of his Telugu hit ‘Arjun Reddy’, was released in cinemas in 2019. Starring Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani, ‘Kabir Singh’ was criticised for glorifying toxic masculinity and misogyny. Despite all the criticism surrounding the 2019 Hindi movie, it emerged as a major box office hit. The Sandeep Reddy Vanga directorial made Rs 278 crore in India and Rs 377 crore globally, giving Shahid Kapoor the biggest hit of his career.
Now, in an interview with journalist Faye D'Souza, Shahid Kapoor opened up about playing an unlikeable character in the 2019 movie. During the conversation, Shahid Kapoor said that he would not “accept” a lot of things that his character did in the film, but characters like Kabir do exist in real life.
“It is not really about who I am. It is about who we all can be. Who we all choose to be. What we all want to be and your learning has to be from that and you cannot make films that are never addressing what is happening in life,” Shahid Kapoor said.
“I don't think a lot of things that Kabir did was acceptable at all. I would not accept a guy like that. But do guys like that exist? Do girls like that fall in love with guys like that? Yes they do! So why can't we make a movie about it? You walk away, you decide what you like what you don't like. That's really upto you, as an audience,” he added.
For the unversed, in ‘Kabir Singh’, Shahid Kapoor played the role of an aggressive lover while Kiara Advani played his love interest. The movie delved into Kabir Singh’s (Shahid) tumultuous journey of love, heartbreak, and self-destruction after his girlfriend married someone else.
The film had received polarising reviews. Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga, however, told his critics that he would come up with another project which will invite much more criticism.
The filmmaker stayed true to his word as his film ‘Animal’, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol and Triptii Dimri, received double the criticism. However, the film turned out to be a massive box office.
Coming back to Shahid Kapoor, he was last seen in Maddock Films’ romantic comedy ‘Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya’ alongside Kriti Sanon. The movie turned out to be a box office hit.
He will next be seen in ‘Deva’ alongside Pooja Hegde. He is playing a police officer in the film. ‘Deva’ is slated to release in theatres on January 31, 2025.
