Kabir Singh Review{1.5/5}: Shahid Kapoor In Arjun Reddy's Remake Is Filled With Toxicity

Official remakes usually work in favour of filmmakers since they give a chance to directors to narrate their stories to a wider audience on a wider platform. But not all such movies work all the time. ‘Kabir Singh’, a remake of the smash Telugu hit film ‘Arjun Reddy’, starring Shahid Kapoor in the lead role, became fodder for memes long before it released in theatres. But the movie not only fails to reach the level of success as its original Telugu counterpart but also falls flat in trying to portray it as a modern-day Devdas.

Kabir Singh (Shahid Kapoor) is a young orthopedic surgeon with a foul temper. He is loose cannon, ready to explode at any given opportunity. When he sets his eyes on a medical intern Preeti (Kiara Advani) in college, he bends over backwards to make her his own. Although the girl is initially hesitant to confess her love to him, she gradually adjusts to his regular temper flare ups and their love soon begins to blossom. But not many love stories come without hitches.

Preeti’s parents disregard their relationship and she is married to someone else. Kabir is forced to leave his love life behind for a new beginning as a practicing orthopedic surgeon but that does not set him on the road to self-discovery. He starts leading a reckless lifestyle instead, with alcohol, cocaine, cigarettes and womanizing on his primary to-do list every day, until it all starts to take a toll on his health. So does rehabilitation work for him? Does the couple reunite after all the years? Find out (even if you have seen a dubbed version of ‘Arjun Reddy’ before!).

‘Kabir Singh’, directed by Sandeep Vanga is nothing more than glorification of all vices. It is being touted as one of the most misogynistic films of modern times and that it does not deliver a positive message to youngsters. Agreed that it is plainly for entertainment, but the high doses of misogyny and sexist remarks in the entire running time of the film starts to get on your nerves after one point of time. The overdose in depicting the protagonist’s anger management issues start to weigh you down in a while. His insolence and his swearing in every scene put you off. Also, the girl does nothing but plays a doormat and allows the guy to walk all over her and abuse her verbally at the drop of a hat. But not all things in this film are bad.

Shahid Kapoor does his best to play the hero, which in reality is the anti-hero of the movie. He does a fine job out of it and stands tall in the role that was tailor-made for him and allowed him to come out of his comfort zone. Kiara Advani, on the other hand, does what was asked of her, but scores a negative point instead. She comes across as a weakling, lacking a strong personality of her own. This is not one of her better performances. In fact, the film would have worked without a female lead too. Arjan Bajwa is strictly okay, while the rest of the star cast only fills in without much to do. Even the supremely talented Adil Hussain is wasted in a cameo.

Technically the film is sound, with the background score and music departments gaining an upper hand. The Bekhayali track is soulful and easy on the ears. Cinematography is good and the editing is crisp. The only problem is the length of the movie, which mostly deals with portraying a flawed person, who rises from the ashes later on. With a frame-to-frame copy of ‘Arjun Reddy’, there are not many changes in ‘Kabir Singh’ except for the language.

To put it together, you won’t be missing out on much if you give ‘Kabir Singh’ a miss.

Eventznu Rates Kabir Singh Movie: * ½