Kabir Singh rocked box office with record breaking numbers, it went on become the fastest film to garner Rs 200 crores after it managed to churn much controversy over its content and glamourisation of masculine toxicity. Indeen negative reviews worked towards giving it a bigger audience.Â
However critcism that Sandeep Reddy Vaga faced didn't deter him to defend the aspects of the Shahid Kapoor-starrer that recieved much flak in a recent interview with Fim Companion.
Speaking to journalist Anupama Chopra, Vanga said, “When I started this film, I knew it would be a big success at the box office, but I never thought that the rage would be repeated, and it has multiplied four times now.â€
Vanga expects that his movie will cross the Rs 300 crore mark to make it the most successful Bollywood film of 2019. The film has already become Shahid Kapoor’s biggest solo release of his career.
Asked about the allegations of toxic masculinity and poor treatment of women in the film, Vanga said, “When you are deeply in love and deeply connected to a woman (and vice versa), if you don’t have the liberty of slapping each other, then I don’t see anything there.†Vanga had previously directed the Telugu hit Arjun Reddy, which was also a major box office success, and had attracted similar criticism, albeit on a smaller scale.
Vanga even slammed the critics and described them as ‘parasites who are the real threat to the film industry’ and said, “Probably they never experienced (love) in the right way.†He added, “They were only on the feminist side, they didn’t speak about anything else.â€Â The director was surprised that the conversation was mostly centred around the themes, and not the technical aspects of his film. He said this was perhaps because “They (the critics) hate me.â€
Speaking about a particular scene in the film, in which Kabir Singh physically assaults Kiara Advani’s character, Preeti, he said, “She slapped him without a reason, at least Kabir had a reason to slap her. If you can’t slap, if you can’t touch your woman wherever you want, if you can’t kiss, I don’t see emotion there.â€
Shahid in a message of gratitude to fans, posted on his Instagram account on the occasion of Kabir Singh crossing Rs 200 crore at the domestic box office, had written, “He is flawed. So are we all. You didn’t judge him you experienced him. You understood him. I have never ever felt so thankful.â€
Vanga's remarks received much backlash including from actor Gulshan Devaiah <
Hello Mr @imvangasandeep maybe you are pissed off & that’s why you’re saying what you are but now I am pissed too ..so here is how I articulate my pissed off ness to you “🖕†#FCPostmortem guess I am never getting work from your side but I ll survive
— Gulshan Devaiah (@gulshandevaiah) July 6, 2019
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