Shahid Kapoor on chauvinism charge against Kabir Singh: 'Wrong to expect actors to be idealistic'

Shahid Kapoor , who will be seen next in Kabir Singh , recently spoke in support of his film, a remake of the hit Telugu drama Arjun Reddy featuring Vijay Deverakonda. Kapoor plays a young, successful doctor with violent tendencies, who resorts to alcoholism after a failed romance. Some viewers found his character chauvinistic and toxic, to which the actor has now responded.

“I am not expected to be idealistic. I am expected to be real; mirroring life, representing all shades of people in their entirety. Once we become adults, we are on our own, drawing heavily from popular culture. But, we must represent grey shades of human beings in films to represent life,” the actor told Mid-Day .

Kapoor hoped that the audience would watch Kabir Singh before deciding to hate it. He explained that his character is a “phase in everyone’s life,” adding that people become self-destructive when they have fallen apart. He described the film as a “cathartic journey of a man, and a cautionary tale.” He also said that it made him feel like he would never want to become this person.

Kabir Singh stars Kiara Advani as Preeti, originally portrayed by Shalini Pandey. It is produced by Bhushan Kumar, Murad Khetani, Krishan Kumar and Ashwin Varde.

The film is slated to release on 21 June.