‘Kabir Singh’ Critics Review: A Resounding Echo of the Telugu Film

‘Kabir Singh’ stars Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani

Shahid Kapoor in a still from the trailer for Kabir Singh.

(Photo: YouTube screengrab)

Film: Kabir Singh
Director: Sandeep Reddy Venga
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani

Here’s what critics have to say about Kabir Singh:

“Director Vanga’s realistic spin on the Devdas myth is delivered with the same gusto and gumption as in the original movie. Apart from dropping a few expendable scenes and replacing some of the songs on the soundtrack, the 174-minute <em>Kabir Singh</em> is a resounding echo of the Telugu film. And yet, there is plenty to compare. The casting and performances make all the difference between the original and the facsimile.”

Nandini Ramnath, Scroll

“There is barely any nuance, no credibility when it comes to the love affair itself. It’s more perverse than persuasive, humiliating than affirming when it comes to the woman. Then there are <em>all</em> the women falling for this gent who officiously tells them not to wear lipstick into the surgery and adorn their chunni (stole) properly. Where is the much mythologised and attractive masculinity and bad boy charisma? There is no sense of place either, be it Delhi (no Delhi is not merely Punjab and Punjabi) or Mumbai. The finale is ludicrously convenient making one wonder whether to laugh or cry.

Namrata Joshi, The Hindu

“Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga, remaking his Telugu hit, Arjun Reddy, gives us a character who nearly rapes a woman at knife-point, and later pees his pants. This is not traditionally heroic behaviour, which is why I assumed Vanga was making a cautionary tale. Instead, Kabir Singh actually applauds its pathetic protagonist, and ends up an obnoxious celebration of toxic masculinity.”

Raja Sen, Hindustan Times