Kabir Singh director Sandeep Vanga Reddy has invited not just fury but also ridicule with his defence of the film, accused of normalising misogyny and sexism. One of the many things he said in an interview with film critic Anupama Chopra is this: "If you don't have the liberty of slapping each other, then I don't see anything there... If you can't slap, if you can't touch your woman wherever you want, if you can't kiss, I don't see emotion there." Reactions to this hard-to-wrap-one's-head-around philosophy of love have ranged from bewilderment to anger - and also, extreme hilarity by way of Sacred Games actress Kubbra Sait who tweeted a video of herself slapping herself, with a superimposed caption that read: "If you can't slap yourself... then you haven't really loved yourself."
Here's Kubbra's tweet:
I'll leave you with this thought.
— Kubbra Sait (@KubbraSait) July 7, 2019
Good night. pic.twitter.com/WOrWJy0ECn
On Instagram, Kubbra Sait had made her point clearer with a video, also featuring Goldie Behl.
Kubbra isn't the celebrity to have been appalled by Sandeep Vanga Reddy's controversial remarks. Actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu declared herself 'deeply disturbed' in an Instagram story. Sportsperson Jwala Gutta wrote in a tweet: "Movie was a movie but justifying physical abuse? If you love someone you have the right to slap? Gosh, this guy needs to be shown all the love without physical hurt. Pathetic."
Movie was a movie...but justifying physical abuse?? If u love someone u have the right to slap? Gosh...this guy needs to be shown all the love without physical hurt!! Pathetic!!
- Gutta Jwala (@Guttajwala) July 7, 2019
Kabir Singh, starring Shahid Kapoor as a the titular character and Kiara Advani as his hapless love interest, is the story of a man with incredible anger management issues who, when his violent love story is thwarted by her marrying another man, self-destructs in an alcohol and drug-fuelled spiral. In an Instagram post, Shahid Kapoor acknowledged that Kabir Singh was 'flawed' and thanked cine-goers for 'forgiving him' - the film is racking up impressive box office numbers - but Sandeep Vanga Reddy's interview displays no such circumspection; the problematic worldview of Kabir Singh seems to reflect Mr Reddy's own.
None of this has mattered at the ticket windows - Kabir Singh's current score is Rs 235 crore and counting, 17 days after release. The film is already bigger than Salman Khan's 2019 Eid offering Bharat and is expected to break Uri's box office record.
