Kabir Singh director Sandeep Reddy Vanga indulged in an interview recently, where he took a strong stand against the criticisms over his recent release
Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani starrer Kabir Singh is a movie which has earned as much at the Box Office as it has been bashed. Although Shahid Kapoor's performance has been appreciated, there are strong views over certain scenes in the movie.
Sandeep Reddy Vanga, who has directed the film, spoke about the same in a recent interview. He, who had directed Vijay Deverakonda-Shalini Pandey starrer Arjun Reddy, went on to reveal that even the Telugu version received criticsm, but not of the level at which Shahid Kapoor-Kiara Advani starrer Kabir Singh was bashed.
The director called the criticisms 'bizzare', not forgetting to mention that he thought Hindi film industry is more 'open-minded'. He went on to say that if Shahid Kapoor could not slap, touch his girl wherever or use cuss words on her, there isn't any emotion between them.
This got him a lot of backlash from people, including actor Gulshan Devaiah.
There was a reason why the Nazis used film as propaganda!! A film is never just a film !! Some do have the power to influence society!! So Beware!!! #FCPostmortem
— Gulshan Devaiah (@gulshandevaiah) July 6, 2019
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
Sandeep Reddy Vanga: "...if you don't have that liberty of slapping each other, then I don't see anything there. So I feel these women [critics] who are talking about this [toxic masculinity], I feel that they were never in love." (From the interview on @FilmCompanion) pic.twitter.com/GBYqcioif4
— Deepanjana (@dpanjana) July 6, 2019
Watched this interview of Sandeep Reddy Vanga (Kabir Singh/Arjun Reddy director) and he said that, and I quote, "All the (female) critics bashing the movie have never experienced 'true' love if their partner didn't have the liberty of slapping them."https://t.co/fJJEeaEzVp
— tanushree (@IscoDeewane) July 6, 2019
Slapping is physical abuse. You can't justify violence by projecting it as love. Love is a pure emotion & it commands mutual respect. Just b'coz you truly love someone doesn't mean you can slap or hit that person. Mental or physical abuse is regressive, not true love.
— EssN (@TheSNFactor) July 6, 2019
Read excerpts from his interview here:
1. 'Criticisms for Kabir Singh were bizzare'
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Did you anticipate the criticism?
There was some criticism in Arjun Reddy too, but this was a little bizzare.
Why was it bizzare?
I believe people get angry when you question their belief pattern. I don't even think this is healthy criticism. It's very pseudo.
Why pseudo?
When you are deeply in love and connected, there's a lot of honesty in it. If you don't have the liberty of slapping each other, then I don't see anything there. Those talking about the scene, I feel they were never in love or experienced it in the right way. I can clearly see that they never experienced it.
2. 'The pseudo people couldn't understand difference between desciption and objectifying'
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Have they not experienced or don't they see this as an expression of love?
That's their personal view. In Telugu there were criticisms on many aspects, but here they were only on feminists side. I could clearly see they don't understand the difference between description and objectifying. If somebody's fat, you call him fat. That's describing. If I talk about his pectoral muscles, that is objectifying.
If you don't understand these basics and call yourself a critic, that's very sad. I feel these guys, not piracy, are threat to the industry. There's curiousity in piracy. This is not personal, it's a general feeling in every filmmaker. Contemporaries narrate their stories keeping critics in mind. It's very attacking, criticisms.
3. 'Don't think people talking about rape even know its spelling'
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"Somebody said this promotes rape culture. I was working with rape victims during my internship days. I know and feel their stories. I don't think people who are talking of rape even know its spelling. In a very softer tone, I would say they are parasites for the industry. I feel a filmmaker's intellect is always directly proportional to the crowd. That's the reason I think Interstellar didn't work in India," added Sandeep Reddy Vanga.
4. 'Don't think it is wrong to take ownership of your girl'
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The love story begins with ownership and she said nothing. Do you see where the issue is?
I don't think there's anything wrong with that. You call 2000 people to your wedding and put a knot. What are you trying to tell?
So you see this as form of that?
Of course. This is at least 100 people classroom, there you call 2000 people.
Don't you think men will assume it is okay to not ask for permission?
I grew up watching movies like Ram Lakhan, Tezaab, but me and my brother never became gangsters.
5. 'If you can't slap, touch your woman wherever you want, kiss, use cuss words, I don't see emotion'
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But you're normalizing the behaviour.
That's between Preeti and Kabir. What makes these people take stand on entire women around the world/country? So many women have told me 'we need somebody like Arjun Reddy or Kabir Singh in life'. Intimidation has its own charm. Did you feel Preeti felt threatened when he was kissing? Why didn't she slap him? And she slaps him a lot without a reason. Kabir has a reason to slap. If you can't slap, touch your woman wherever you want, kiss, use cuss words, I don't see emotion there. There's nothing unconditional about that then. It's all conditions.
Arjun Reddy was also criticised, but this was surprising. I always thought audiences and censor here are more open. It is narrower than South. If these guys watch Parthaveerun, I think they'll commit suicide. They got National Award. That movie can never be made because people shed their pen thinking about critics. These guys should reinforce our work, not hamper it.
6. 'Pseudo guys would talk much more if Kabir Singh earned Rs. 80 crore'
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The movie has earned so much despite criticism...
Pseudo guys would talk much more if the movie would stop at 80-90 crore. Now that it has touched 200, they are not.
7. 'Never felt I'll face criticism'
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As a filmmaker, do you think that there is a point of view and I have to work towards it?
If you do that then how can you write?
Two people have two different views. Do you try and understand what the other person is feeling about a scene?
No.
People have called the movie hateful to women. Did that come to your mind? No. So you're seeing it as a great love story?
Yeah, that's it. I never felt I'll face criticism.
You were never objectifying women?
No. Because I had to delete the scene from Kabir Singh. I want to put it on YouTube to make it clear.
8. 'Films have moral responsibility to some extent'
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Do you think films have some moral responsibility?
Yeah, to some extent. There's no yardstick, so we really can't answer that. There is, which is why there are censors.
Now that people know you, do you think that now your cinema has to be responsible?
I don't know, I never thought. I was writing something and it is half-finished, so I'll check my mindset on that.
9. 'I'll show these pseudos what violent film is'
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Hopefully your next film will generate less criticism.
It will be more, because these people are calling this film violent, I'll show them what violent film is. I'm curious how will they react. I don't hate them. I was taken aback, but will see.
