If Kabir Singh Were a Girl... Would She Still Be a Hero?

Talent: Divyani Rattanpal, Deeksha Sharma, Badsha Ray, Zijah Sherwani, Hiba Beg, Cyrus John, Vishnu Venugopalan
Camera: Sanjoy Deb, Abhishek Ranjan, Shiv Kumar Maurya, Tridip Mandal, Gautam Sharma
Editor: Ashish Maccune
Directors: Tridip Mandal & Divya Talwar
Concept & Producer: Divya Talwar

Guess what? A film which celebrates misogyny and normalises abuse just crossed the 100-crore mark at the box office. Of course we are talking about Shahid Kapoor’s blockbuster hit Kabir Singh. The film has been slammed by critics and (some) aam jantaa too. Read some of the tweets below:

#KabirSingh glorifies & normalises stalking abusive relationships , rape & violence.
Violence isn't love. Toxic domination is not cool.#KabirSinghReview

— subhoshree (@ravishingtwikle) June 21, 2019

In a country plagued with violence against women, I feel nauseated that Hindi cinema continues to showcase the worst kind of violent, male archetypes like in #KabirSingh I am all for creative freedom but is there nothing called a sense of social responsibility? Surely a balance?

— HindolSengupta (@HindolSengupta) June 22, 2019

& how can we keep such deeply disturbing , dark & dangerous politics ‘aside’? Does the actor have no responsibility for choosing to play a part in a narrative that can set us back as a society? Is that all we have become? Creatures of ambition? #LetsTalk #India #KabirSingh https://t.co/UxUbWdOpAF

— SONA (@sonamohapatra) June 21, 2019

In the film, the protagonist drinks on the job (he is a surgeon, btw), physically abuses his girlfriend and threatens to rape a stranger when she refuses to have sex with him. What’s worrisome is the film’s business and the audience accepting the narrative it puts forth. Now, if you think masala film hai yaar, documentary nahi... we have a question for you: Would you be okay if Kabir and Preeti swapped roles? Think about it!