Shahid Kapoor: 'I've seen physical abuse as a child, I understand the criticism against Kabir Singh'

Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani in a still from Kabir Singh

Shahid Kapoor experienced the biggest box office success in his career in the form of Kabir Singh, a south remake helmed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga. The Hindi adaptation of Vanga's Telugu original, Arjun Reddy, broke several box office records, but also invited brickbats due to the problematic nature of its protagonist. The film was criticised for peddling toxic masculinity, which sparked several debates about the portrayal of gender roles in the film.

During the latest episode of our print and podcast series Sit With Hitlist, Shahid talked about the criticism the film faced. "When Kabir Singh released, so many people refused to accept that the film is being liked by the audience. If people are liking the film, who are you to say, 'How dare you make a film like this?'"

Although there is no denying the box office success of the film, we pointed out that people protested against normalising the violent and abusive behaviour of the protagonist. "My point is, in love, have we all not messed up? Are we all perfect human beings? Everybody deserves a second chance, however rubbish they might be. I have seen physical abuse as a child, I understand what you are talking about. But it was just about a dysfunctional love story between a very simple girl and a very talented, brilliant, aggressive guy," he told Mid-day's Mayank Shekhar.

Another film of Shahid Kapoor that courted many controversies was the 2018 movie, Padmaavat. The period film starred Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh as the three main leads. Although, Deepika and Ranveer's characters, that of queen Padmaavati and the tyrant Alauddin Khilji, respectively, seemed to hog the limelight pre and post release.

Shahid Kapoor, who played the role of Maharawal Ratan Singh, Deepika's husband in the film, at several points has expressed his displeasure with his role. During the latest episode of our print and podcast series Sit With Hitlist, he was asked if he felt short-changed in the Bhansali film.

"I did," Shahid admitted. "Because I think everybody was fantastic in that film, they did a lovely job. But at times I did feel, why did I do this film," he went on.

Watch the promo here, and stay tuned for the full interview out on July 8.