Koffee With Karan 7: Vijay Deverakonda Says He "Didn't Find Arjun Reddy Misogynistic"

The latest episode of Koffee With Karan 7, featuring Vijay Deverakonda and Liger co-star Ananya Panday, saw some candid conversations. Among the many topics discussed during the episode was also Vijay Deverakona's take on his 2017 film Arjun Reddy, which was flagged for its toxic and misogynistic view of romance. Vijay said this during the episode, "First thing, as an actor, my job is to empathize with the character and not judge him. Like if I'm judging him, I can't play him. Any role that's brought to me, I try and empathize with him and if I can, I take that role. If something about it is very conflicting and I don't understand it or I don't agree with it, I won't do it. So, if I did Arjun Reddy, I empathised with him. I understood why he behaved the way he did and the relationship he had with Preethi. I didn't find it misogynistic or anti-feministic. It seemed like two people who had a very unique relationship. That was their relationship and for them it was love."

A scene from the film featured the central character (Vijay Deverakonda) slapping his love interest (played by Shalini Pandey). The scene received major flak for its problematic depiction of romance. When Karan Johar asked the actor whether the criticism was justified, Vijay said, "I'm no one to say it is right or wrong but they two did it, lived a happy life, and had a kid. But I'm not saying nobody should have a problem with it. Imagine you've been in a relationship that was abusive and then you see this film. It's painful to watch this happening on screen. These are your nightmares as a woman, as a wife, or as a girlfriend and when you see it playing out on a screen, you'll hate it. And I understand that you disagree with it and I respect that you don't like it."

When asked if he could ever be Arjun in real life, Vijay Deverakonda said, "I would never raise my hand. If it reaches a point where I feel such anger towards a woman, I will walk out. I will never reach a point where it gets abusive in nature. You don't need that stress in life. If something is stressful, walk off."

Vijay Deverakonda made his acting debut in 2011 film Nuvvila. However, his breakout performance was in the 2016 film Pelli Choopulu. The actor is best-known for his performances in films like Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Arjun Reddy, Ye Mantram Vesave, Mahanati, Nadigaiyar Thilagam, Geetha Govindam and Dear Comrade, to name a few. In terms of work, the Telugu star was last seen in World Famous Lover. The actor will next be seen in Liger with Ananya Panday and Mike Tyson.