‘Kabir Singh’ faced a tidal wave of criticism upon its release for its portrayal of toxic masculinity and glorification of abusive behavior. Critics and much of the general audience condemned the film for romanticizing a protagonist who displayed alarming traits of aggression, substance abuse, and possessiveness towards the female lead. It also started a debate about responsible filmmaking and the portrayal of complex characters in Indian cinema.
Even today, the debate surrounding ‘Kabir Singh’ persists, especially after Sandeep Reddy Vanga released his second Hindi film, ‘Animal’. Actor Adil Hussain, who played a short role of the college dean in ‘Kabir Singh’, revealed that the only film he regretted doing was Vanga’s film.
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In a podcast, Adil Hussain said, “The only film I’ve regretted is acting in Kabir Singh. And I ended up doing it. I was in the middle of something and then they wanted one day from me. I said, ‘No no I can’t.’ I told my manager that ask them for a lot of money that they will say no to but they agreed. So I went and did it. And I like the scene. The scene I did is a good scene. So I thought the film is also going to be good. And then I go to watch the film and I was like, ‘What am I doing here?’ You have no idea how I felt. I felt so embarrassed. I can’t even ask my wife to see it. She would be so angry.”
Here is a video from the podcast:
Director of ‘Kabir Singh’, Sandeep Reddy Vanga, shared this video on X and slammed Adil Hussain for his statement. He expressed that he regretted casting him for the film and suggested that he would be replacing his face in the film with the help of artificial intelligence.
“Ur ‘belief’ in 30 art films didn’t get as much fame to u as ur ‘regret’ of 1 BLOCKBUSTER film did. I regret casting u,knwing that ur greed is bigger than ur passion. NOW I’ll save U from the shame by replacing Ur face with AI help Now smile properly (sic),” he wrote online.
Ur 'belief' in 30 art films didn't get as much fame to u as ur 'regret' of 1 BLOCKBUSTER film did 👏https://t.co/BiJIV3UeyO
I regret casting u,knwing that ur greed is bigger than ur passion. NOW I'll save U from the shame by replacing Ur face with AI help👍 Now smile properly 🙂— Sandeep Reddy Vanga (@imvangasandeep) April 18, 2024
Vanga has previously slammed a handful of actors and film critics for criticizing his films. What are your views on this incident?