After a series of career speedbumps, Shahid Kapoor is back on the highway riding his Royal Enfield Classic in and as ‘Kabir Singh’. And fueling Shahid’s Enfield is Telugu director Sandeep Reddy Vanga, who has secured this Bollywood remake for his first and only film ‘Arjun Reddy’. The ‘A’ rated movie revolves around its lead, Kabir Singh (Shahid Kapoor), a medical surgeon who follows a very strict diet plan: two loaves of toxic male ego for breakfast, three slices of anger issues for lunch, and two shots of drug abuse for dinner. And Kabir Singh is a 172-minute outcome of that diet.

 

In essence, Kabir Singh is a fifth year medical school ‘Harami’ who doubles as a teacher for the Delhi Institute of Medical Sciences. The film tries to portray Kabir as a genius macho chick magnet. But he actually comes off as this shallow, deplorable ego maniac who’s got zero respect for others. After a rough altercation with the college dean, he decides to leave the college, until he meets Preeti (Kiara Advani), a first year student. Like a typical Bollywood Romeo, he falls in love at first glance and instantly decides, yes, decides, that Preeti is his, and his only.

 

He then threatens every boy in the college not to even lay an eye on her. I was taken back by the simplicity and cuteness of Preeti, maybe even remotely crushing, until she surrendered to the whims of Kabir Singh like an ‘obedient loyal wife’. She never speaks out—not even when he randomly kisses her in front of the school, not when he makes her skip classes or takes her out to dates or even when he forces her to live with him. But I guess at some point the Stockholm syndrome kicks in and they’re in love.

 

Yet soon, their romance takes a wrong turn when Preeti’s father rejects their romantic affair and stresses that Preeti must marry a Sikh. Kabir, obviously, cannot handle the rejection and pours his anger on Preeti, emphasizing how she’s nobody in front of him, and even slaps her—and yet she comes back to him. I do not know what is more disgusting: the character of Kabir Singh or the fact that Preeti gives in so easily to his plastic machismo? 

 

Kabir Singh then goes into a self-destructive spiral to cope with the heartbreak. From treating patients under the influence of chemical substances to pulling out a knife when a women changes her mind about having sex with him, Kabir brings out the demon in him. And that is pretty much the whole movie, the life of Kabir that follows his big heartbreak with Preeti.

 

I can’t help but appreciate Shahid Kapoor’s acting in this film. Kabir Singh is easily one of his best roles. Nobody else I can imagine could have carried it off better. Kiara didn’t really get to experiment much in terms of acting but she’s graceful when she needs to and persuasively emotional.

 

A Holi scene stood out for me. There’s a party at the college, and Preeti doesn’t show up, greatly worrying Kabir. “What are you saying? Who is that guy,”—someone has done something terrible to his girl—Kabir shouts on his phone as the camera pans to him on his Royal Enfield, furious, as people around watch in awe, riding towards the girls’ hostel as the movie’s best soundtrack is playing in the background. The cinematographer, actor and the sound director are in perfect symphony.

 

Kabir Singh, as a piece of cinema, is a solid entertainer. You will enjoy the ace acting of Kapoor, the melodious voice of Arijit Singh and the action sequences. The only problem with the movie is the blatant normalization and glorification of a ‘manly’ (actually sick) character like Kabir Singh. Movies like Kabir Singh should exist though; they stand a testament to the fact that our society is still full of people who idealize the Kabirs of this world. But ‘Kabir Singh’ does exactly one thing perfectly: it constantly reminds you of the original movie, frame to frame, dialogue to dialogue.

 

Who should watch it?

An ‘A’ rated film, it’s a no-no for children. For the rest, watch the movie, no problem. It is a solid entertainer. But pray, resist from glorifying the character of Kabir Singh as you get caught up in red-in-tooth-and-claw cinematic spectacle.

 

Kabir Singh

Run Time: 2h 52 m

Director: Sandeep Reddy Vanga

Genre: Action

Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Arjan Bajwa

3 stars