Amid the ceaseless swirl of discourse surrounding the Hindi film industry, a fresh bout of controversy has erupted, putting the 2019 film ‘Kabir Singh’ back in the spotlight. Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga has issued a retort to actor Adil Hussain’s recent confession about his role in the high-grossing film, in which the seasoned actor voiced his misgivings and branded the content as “misogynistic.”
In an act of creative maelstrom, actor Adil Hussain had taken to a podcast on YouTube to articulate his regrets about participating in ‘Kabir Singh,’ a film he joined without delving into the script or acquainting himself with the original Telugu blockbuster ‘Arjun Reddy’ (2017), directed by Vanga himself. Within this candid podcast revelation, Hussain conveyed his unfiltered sentiment about his decision, rooted in a spontaneous acceptance of the role of a medical college dean. It was a role that would become part of a narrative he later found morally troubling.
‘Kabir Singh,’ starring acclaimed actor Shahid Kapoor, is a cinematic journey into the life of a gifted yet self-destructive surgeon wrestling with alcoholism and unbridled anger. Despite the film’s raving financial success, it has been enshrouded in a maelstrom of criticism with many lambasting its alleged propagation of violence and toxic masculinity. Critics argue that the film endorses negative perceptions by excusing the protagonist’s maltreatment of women, positing that the storyline glamorizes and legitimizes such behavior.
“I went to see Kabir Singh in Delhi and after 20 minutes, I just walked out. The only film that I have regretted doing till date is Kabir Singh because I think it is misogynist and makes me feel small as a human being,” expressed Hussain. He further implicated the film in sanctioning harmful societal norms: “It legitimizes male misogyny. It legitimizes violence against anybody for that matter, doesn’t have to be a woman. And it celebrates it, it glorifies it and it should not be glorified,” he emphasized in the podcast.
Upon the video scattering virally across the internet, Vanga retorted with an acerbic online comment, insinuating Husain’s quest for fame over artistic integrity. “Ur ‘belief’ in 30 art films didn’t get as much fame to u as ur ‘regret’ of 1 BLOCKBUSTER film did,” wrote Vanga, suggesting a dichotomy between Hussain’s earlier, less mainstream work and the evoked notoriety stemming from his association with ‘Kabir Singh.’ The director voiced his own regrets over casting Hussain and tauntingly pledged to relieve him of his shame by using artificial intelligence to replace the actor’s face in the film, a statement that reverberated with Vanga’s dissatisfaction.
Vanga, no stranger to controversy, has previously engaged in public disagreements with literary and cinematic figures. This includes a notable clash with esteemed writer Javed Akhtar, who disparaged Vanga’s upcoming project ‘Animal.’ Vanga’s response to Akhtar defended his work’s themes and narrative choices, underscoring the substance of betrayal and the politics of gender portrayed in the piece.
The multitude of opinions surrounding ‘Kabir Singh’ and its moral content draws attention to the continuing discourse on the responsibility of Indian cinema. From the perspectives of creators and actors to the eyes of the audience, debates over artistic license and cinematic influence rage on.
As these disparate voices collide, the Hindi film industry finds itself continually scrutinized, a testament to the evocative power of the silver screen and its potential to influence society’s deepest values and norms.
