Deepika has spoken in support of comments made about recent film Kabir Singh. Although the director Sandeep Vanga and main star Shahid Kapoor have repeatedly defended the project, which is a remake of Vanga’s own Telugu film Arjun Reddy. Deepika has previously berated other stars and their “disappointing” behaviour and lack of social responsibility. Now she has rebuked Bollywood as a whole if it does not take responsibility.”
Kabir Singh was a box office success and huge crowd pleaser earlier this year.
It tells the story of a man overcoming immense personal demons to find love and redemption. His violent nature is exacerbated by alcohol and drugs and he becomes abusive and controlling of his sweet and younger girlfriend Preeti.
Many critics have also called out the movie, which appears to “glorify” domestic violence. Vijay Deverakonda, who plays the main role in the original film, possibly didn’t help when he defended the violent scenes between the couple as “they give each other little hits and stuff.”
Deepika spoke out on a televised panel with other Bollywood stars like Deverakonda, Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh, Ayushmann Khurrana, Vijay Sethupathi and Manoj Bajpayee.
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On the panel Deverakonda added that maybe if he had been “a kid and I saw my father abusing my mother. When I come from a background like that and I see a film like Arjun Reddy, I find it scary.
“But when you come from a relationship where you feel that way, then it works! The director is making what he believes in, and I bought it completely.”
Commentators highlighted how Deepika appeared to smile in disbelief and then appeared to become frustrated and even angry.
She forcefully rebuked anyone who does not acknowledge the importance of message given on-screen to the audience.
The issue was raised by actress Parvathy Thirovothu, who contrasted the film and its remake with the recent Joker movie.
She said: “There is a very fine line, reflecting what’s there in society, showing what misogyny is and glorifying it.
“Arjun Reddy or Kabir Singh both had the visual grammar of glorification, Joker did not.
“We can watch a tragedy and leave it there, without feeling inspired to follow it. Whereas if you’re telling there is no passion in a relationship without slapping each other – and I see the comments on YouTube where people are resonating and engaging with that – there is also, you can see, engaging with a wrong thing in a massive, mob-like manner. Where you’re inciting violence…”
Actor Shahid Kapoor who plays the main character, Kabir Rajdheer Singh, previously praised the movie on the red carpet.
He said the story shines a light on “Real characters, complex characters with a dark side and real side….
“The audience understood at the heart of it it was a love story about a man who was not correct, he had his flaws but he was still human.
“They understood his love and they understood the relationship between Kabir and Preeti and I can’t thank them enough.”