Shahid Kapoor’s critically acclaimed film, Kabir Singh, hit theatres in 2019, becoming one of the biggest hits of that year with a box office collection of over Rs. 250 crore. That said, the film did ignite a fair bit of controversy with its titular main character, so much so that the story and the role are discussed to this day. Well, recently, lead actor, Shahid, who played ‘Kabir Singh’ weighed in on the debate about depicting such stories and characters on-screen.
Shahid Kapoor backs playing ‘Kabir Singh’ on-screen as ‘guys like that exist and girls’ fall in love’ with them
Shahid Kapoor recently sat for a candid chat with Faye D’Souza, during which he discussed his controversial character, ‘Kabir Singh.’ According to the actor, he personally thought many things that ‘Kabir’ did were not ‘acceptable at all,’ but the sad truth is that films like this were based on reality. Shahid said:
“I don’t think a lot of things that Kabir did was acceptable at all. I would not accept a guy like that. But do guys like that exist? Do girls like that fall in love with guys like that? Yes they do! So why can’t we make a movie about it? You walk away, you decide what you like what you don’t like. That’s really upto you, as an audience.”
Shahid Kapoor says that playing a character has nothing to do with who he is but ‘who we all can be’
Shahid Kapoor stated that a film was never merely about the actor playing it. Instead, it was about who everyone, be it the audience or those involved with the film, chose to be. The actor addressed the debate around him playing a character like that and said:
“It is not really about who I am. It is about who we all can be. Who we all choose to be. What we all want to be and your learning has to be from that and you cannot make films that are never addressing what is happening in life.”
Shahid Kapoor talks about Indian men being conditioned to ‘be the man’
During the conversation, the Jab We Met actor also reflected on the traditional way of raising Indian men, which involved ‘being the man’ and carrying all the family burdens. Culturally, in India, men are also taught to hide their emotions with phrases like, “Boys don’t cry.”
However, while speaking with Faye, Shahid Kapoor stated that vulnerability is a human, regardless of gender, and should be embraced. The actor is of the opinion that the gender roles should be flipped and men’s vulnerability needs to be accepted more openly. In Shahid’s words:
“Why can’t we flip roles sometimes? Why can’t men let someone else protect them? We are humans, and it’s only natural to feel vulnerable. Aggression doesn’t attract people the way vulnerability does—it’s the latter that truly connects us… Aggression cannot attract people the way vulnerability does. It’s only human to be vulnerable, so as a man, you should be okay with it.”
What do you think about Shahid Kapoor’s take on the portrayal of characters like ‘Kabir Singh’ being acceptable as they are based on reality?
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