Thank you Sandeep Vanga for giving us a gem of a film like ‘Kabir Singh’

Last month, the trailer of Shahid Kapoor starrer ‘Kabir Singh’ was unveiled. After watching the trailer of ‘Kabir Singh’, and hearing a lot of good things about Vijay Deverakonda starrer ‘Arjun Reddy’, I watched the original. And to be honest, I ended up wasting three hours of my life. Yes, that’s the most subtle way in which I can describe my experience of watching this Sandeep Vanga directorial.

Now that ‘Kabir Singh’ is released, you all must be aware of the kind of mixed to negative reviews it received. In my previous blog, I had poured my heart out about how unapologetically ‘Arjun Reddy’ normalises the abusive and violent behaviour of its hero. So in this blog, I am not going to repeat everything. In fact, I am here to thank Mr. Sandeep Reddy Vanga.

All our lives we have been taught that we should learn from our previous mistakes and make sure that we don’t commit the same mistake twice. But thanks to Mr. Vanga, I have now learned that one can continue to commit the same blunder again and even laugh their way to the bank by making a severely problematic film not once but twice. Now isn’t that something we all should applaud Mr Vanga for?

When ‘Arjun Reddy’ hit the theatres, then apart from being labelled a ‘pathbreaking film’ by the audience, it also received many brickbats. So when Vanga decided to remake the film for the pan India audience, the least he could have done was omit the objectionable trajectory of the film’s storyline. Perhaps then, ‘Kabir Singh’ wouldn’t have led to the rising debate regarding its romanticisation of a violent man. However, Vanga stuck to the original story and made a loyal remake. Now though I haven’t watched ‘Kabir Singh’ yet (neither do I plan to), I have been told that it is a frame-to-frame copy of ‘Arjun Reddy’, so I think I am not missing out on much (THANKFULLY).

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I wonder what kind of love Vanga has been exposed to in his cinematic experience that he couldn’t see the fault in the way he narrated ‘Kabir Singh’ or ‘Arjun Reddy’ for that matter. Despite belonging to generation X (in simpler terms millennials), I have literally ended up fighting with my friends and colleagues to make them realise why ‘Kabir Singh’ is problematic on so many levels. They all are justifying and defending the film, by saying how we lap up shows like ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘Sacred Games’, but when it comes to ‘Kabir Singh’, we all have become hypocritical. I am now fed up with making them understand the lack of logic behind this false equivalence. My patience is wearing thin. So I have decided to put a stop to this. Yes, you read that right. After all, haven’t you come across Mark Twain’s quote, “Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.”

And before you come to defend Shahid Kapoor for doing this film, let me tell you that my views don’t match with yours. As from now onwards, I will always marvel at the actor’s choice of doing this ‘Oscar-worthy’ film. And I am quite sure that he must be feeling extremely proud these days looking at the success of this film. In one of his previous interviews, Shahid had said, “As a father, I have to be the best version of myself as my work is being documented.” I think a few years down the line, when his kids grow up, perhaps ‘Kabir Singh’ would be the first film he will proudly show them.

Lastly, the film’s box office success showcases that perhaps ‘Kabir Singh’ is the kind of film we all truly deserve. In the post #MeToo era, who needs films that talk against misogyny, highlights the need for equality, underline the importance of consent, or throw light on lack of female agency?

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In fact, we need more Kabir Singhs to drive home the point of the patriarchal world that we live in. In short, I would like to thank Mr Vanga, for blessing us with ‘Kabir Singh’. This is indeed a gem of a film.

Also Read: With ‘Kabir Singh’, is Bollywood going to continue its tryst with toxic masculinity?

Pooja Sharma

Cinephile. Bibliophile. Pluviophile. Selenophile. Autophile. Aesthete. Blood group- Tea positive. Poetry lover. Sucker of rom-coms.

PS: Sharmaji ki Ladki sucks at writing bios.
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