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5 Years of Kabir Singh: Dissecting into the highly debated character played by Shahid Kapoor
As Kabir Singh completes 5 years of its release, let's analyze one of the most debated character of Hindi film industry played by Shahid Kapoor.
Trigger Warning: This article contains references to death, alcohol and drug addiction
Sandeep Reddy Vanga's directorial Kabir Singh was released on June 21, 2019, and it's been 5 years since the release of the film. Even though the film proved to be a big commercial success, it received a disappointing response from a section of the audience. Ever since its release, the title character played by Shahid Kapoor has been one of the most debated ones in the Hindi film industry. Some of his character traits triggered a section of the audience so much that they couldn't notice his not-so-subtle good side.
While the character arc clearly went unnoticed, the whole movie was judged based on his toxic side. Well, let's keep another day to analyze the film! Today we'll be dissecting the character and will analyze its both negative and positive sides.
Kabir Singh's anger management issues
The film takes no time to establish that Kabir Singh has anger management issues. The story is narrated from his perspective which confuses the audience and makes them wonder if it's glorifying his actions. It's not! But that's just the beginning of this 172-minute journey of a complicated character.
As the film goes on, a closer look at him makes you understand that he's not a completely dark character. Raising your hand on your partner can't be justified so that's definitely a problematic side of his character but one must not close their eyes when he takes a slap from his partner also.
To see him running behind his maid made everyone think that he intended to harm her. It was a tricky scene, but it's not too hard to understand that he was just goofing around. Yes, at this stage, he is an unpredictable man-child who can scare anybody with just a look, but one can easily judge the intention because when he sees her hiding behind the wall, he waits for her to notice him and start running again. It was him just seeking some entertainment. A man who is mostly broken from the inside and is on a self-destructive journey can't go on and harm someone just because she broke her glass.
Anger more important than love
Kabir Singh is passionately in love with Preeti (played by Kiara Advani) and feels a sense of ownership towards her when he calls her 'meri bandi'. It's problematic for someone who's observing their relationship but if it works for him and his partner, then it's good for them.
However, the problem with Kabir is that anger is more important to him than love. The reason behind it is that he can control his partner but he is controlled by his anger instead. So when it comes to picking one between Preeti and his anger, he picks the latter. We see that when he curses Preeti to get married to her father's choice.
The journey of denial
Till his breakup with Preeti, he thinks he can solve every issue and every problem of his life with anger. However, he gets the shock of his life when he's unable to convince her parents with his anger. Unable to accept his defeat, he goes on a self-destructive journey. When even that doesn't help, he tries to heal himself by getting involved with other women.
Nothing helps him in his stage of denial and he's constantly troubled by the consequences of his past actions. Since you see the film from his eyes, you see his stubbornness but being a little empathic will also make you see what he's not able to. The world he creates around him, his room that is no less than a s**thole, being a full-blown alcoholic and drug addict makes him live the life of a big loser. There comes a point when his grandmom who is closest to him in the family refuses to go and meet him because she can't see him in that state. Now imagine being in a situation where even the closest person in your life can't be near you. Isn't that a consequence of your actions? Yes, his best friend Shiva stays with him even during his darkest phase but that's because he can see a little light in him.
The light inside Kabir Singh in his darkest phase
If one's bad actions in the best period of his life can destroy his fate, his good actions in the worst phase can also help him revive himself. Kabir moves from the stage of denial to acceptance when he accepts his crime of doing surgery in an intoxicated state. Even when he has the support of his family and lawyer, he decides to speak the truth and accepts the consequences of his actions. A guy who used to get angry at the drop of a hat takes multiple slaps from his angry brother. He refuses his best friend's offer to marry his sister because he's not the right guy for her and gets expelled from his room too. He accepts the life that his actions chose for him and that's when he gets another shock of his life. His grandmom passes away.
Losing his grandmom triggers the change inside him
Till this stage, he has already accepted his fate but when he hears the news of his grandmom's passing, it comes as a life-changing turn in his life. Remember, a bus passes through the road with a loud noise as Shiva breaks the bad news. It was most probably a creative decision to explain the impact, it had on Kabir. It's only after his grandmom's demise, that Kabir decides to quit his bad habits and change his life for the better.
Meeting Preeti again
The rollercoaster journey that he had in the past few months completely changed his life. He's not an impulsive guy now and it's evident when he sees Preeti again but doesn't approach her instantly. He notices that she's expecting a child but is not happy, goes back from the park where he saw her, spends time thinking about her, and then decides after a few days that he's going to propose to her.
A section of the audience had a problem with Preeti accepting him again. But it's like saying one doesn't have to live their life happily even after being jailed for the crime they committed. Till this point, Kabir has survived hell which was a result of what he did in the past. He came out of it stronger and with a promise to start afresh leaving behind his bad habits. So it's only fair for life to give him another chance. Isn't it?
The conclusion
The whole analysis concludes that initially Kabir Singh was a character with several negative traits but had a few positives too. While he faced the consequences of his bad actions, his positive side also helped him attract a better life.
Disclaimer: If you know someone who is struggling with alcohol or substance abuse, please reach out to the authorities and report it. There are several helplines available for the same.
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