Shahid Kapoor’s new film ‘Kabir Singh’ might be close to the 100 crore mark, but it’s sparked controversy for allegedly romanticizing misogynistic behavior.
‘Kabir Singh’ in short, is about a house surgeon (Shahid Kapoor) who falls into substance abuse and violence after his girlfriend (Kiara Advani) is coerced into marrying someone else.
It had a monstrous opening weekend in India, almost toppling the 100 crore mountain (it’s gathered Rs 70 crore), however, it has been condemned for glorifying sexism and poisonous toxic masculinity.
Twitter has been flooding in opinions and reviews about the film, with many strongly dismissing it for assault against women and romanticizing the hero behind it, Kabir.
A scene in ‘Kabir Singh’ has gone viral online, where domestic help breaks a glass by accident and is chased around the house and almost killed by Kabir in a fit of rage. The ‘Arjun Reddy’ remake has more disturbing moments of sexual assault and unapologetic toxic masculinity. The question of consent is thrown out the window in ‘Kabir Singh’ – he represents a popular trait in most men who assume that their sexual feelings for women are instantly reciprocated.
It begs to ask when will Indian cinema cease it’s abetting a younger generation of sexual misconduct and a lack of understanding consent. India has already seen far too many cases of rape and assault, with an overtly large chunk of the population influenced by what they see on television and in films; and in most cases, it’s an uneasy celebration of poisonous masculinity.
