Actor Rishi Kapoor seems to have touched a nerve with cinephiles after tweeting that he found Martin Scorsese’s latest directorial The Irishman “boring”. “Irishman (sic). Painfully slow and boring. What a let down!” he wrote.
Outraged Scorsese fans expressed their disagreement and argued that the slow burn (the film is 3.5 hours long) was necessary while others went as far as criticising Rishi Kapoor’s own films and said that he could never understand the filmmaker’s craft.
Surprised at the outrage his tweet earned, Rishi took to Twitter to defend his opinion. He asked fans why his “short review” of The Irishman was taken so personally, and was upset with the hateful comparisons being drawn with his own films. He clarified that he meant that he has seen better films by the director and actors. “Why is my short review of The Irishman being taken so personally? Some comparing my films with it with hatred! I hated Once Upon a Time in Hollywood too. Have seen better works of all the actors/directors involved!” he tweeted.
Directed by Martin Scorsese, The Irishman is based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brand, and looks at the life of Frank Sheeran, a World War II veteran who became a mob hitman and allegedly played a role in the disappearance of labour union leader Jimmy Hoffa in 1975. The cast stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and Ray Romano. The film premiered at the 57th New York Film Festival, and is currently streaming on Netflix.
Rishi Kapoor is presently set to start shooting for debutant director Hitesh Bhatia’s untitled next, which also stars Juhi Chawla. The film is reportedly expected to go on floor in Mumbai on 5 December, followed by a month-long shoot in Delhi in January.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)