Dinesh Kamath's column 'Movie World: Shahid Kapoor’s ‘Kabir Singh’ excels at Box office' that was published in Newsband

Movie World

Shahid Kapoor’s ‘Kabir Singh’ excels at Box office

Shahid Kapoor’s Kabir Singh has become seventh Bollywood venture in 2019 to score a century. Film trade analysts now believe that there is a strong possibility of Kabir Singh to emerge as the highest grossing film of 2019, surpassing Uri’s lifetime business.

Bollywood, in the first two quarters of this calendar year, is matching the growth momentum of 2018, which is considered as the richest year for the Hindi film industry. Shahid Kapoor’s Kabir Singh, that hit theatres on June 21, has minted over Rs 100 crore within five days of its release, becoming the seventh film so far to cruise past the Rs 100 crore target.

This is also going to be Kapoor’s first solo century. His last successful offering was Padmaavat, in which he was sharing screen space with Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone.

Kabir Singh’s successful opening makes South Indian remakes a hit formula for Bollywood

In 2017, there were nine films in the Rs 100-crore club, 2016 had seven such films, 2015 and 2013 six such films and in 2014 the count stood at eight. Big-ticket films that earned over Rs 100 crore in 2019 include Salman Khan’s Bharat that entered the club in four days; Akshay Kumar’s Kesari in seven days; Ranveer Singh’s Gully Boy in eight days, and multi-starrer Total Dhamaal in nine days. Ajay Devgn’s De De Pyaar De is another film that entered the Rs 100 crore club this year.

With an estimated budget of Rs 60 crore, Kabir Singh’s success is as surprising for the film industry as the success of ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’ that went on to rake in Rs 245 crore. Film trade analysts now believe that there is a strong possibility of Kabir Singh to emerge as the highest grossing film of 2019, surpassing Uri’s lifetime business. Running in over 3100 screens, Kabir Singh is witnessing a strong run in Tier II and III markets, which was unexpected from the film as it was considered to be more urban-centric.

The romantic drama is even seeing a repeat audience, which is further helping Kabir Singh trend even during weekdays.

The first two quarters of 2019 have emerged as big money churners, with the opening three months of the year getting as much as Rs 1,000 crore, a feat not achieved in the last few years.

Kabir Singh’s success will not only be a value addition to the overall business of the film industry, but it could also be a turnaround for Shahid Kapoor’s career, who single-handedly could carry very few successful ventures in the last few years.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Kabir Singh might have invited the wrath of critics for glamourising misogyny, but the film is cooking up a storm at the box office. Despite negative reviews, Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani's film has crossed the Rs 100-crore mark. After crossing the Rs 70-crore mark in its opening weekend, Kabir Singh has now entered the Rs 100-crore club within five days of its release.

Released in 3123 screens across India, Kabir Singh is going strong at single screens as well as multiplexes. Kabir Singh, which is Hindi remake of Telugu film Arjun Reddy, has emerged as the fourth biggest Hindi opener at the domestic box office this year.

Shahid and Kiara are on cloud nine after the massive success of their film. In fact, the Kaminey actor took to Instagram to share a happy picture with Kiara and director Sandeep Reddy Vanga to celebrate the opening weekend collection. While Kabir Singh is refusing to slow at the box office, the film has been slammed by critics for its toxic masculinity.

Giving the film 1.5 out of 5 stars, India Today reviewer Ananya Bhattacharya wrote, "Kabir Singh spends 120 minutes of its 154 in showing Kabir either drinking or drunk or snorting cocaine or needling in morphine or fighting with people or, slapping his girlfriend or screaming at her. Or making out. In the remaining 24 minutes, his repentance is done with, and we all go home with a happy ending. If you think it is okay, if you think it is justified because 'movie hai yaar, it's not real life', you are part of the problem. Misogyny is not cool. Neither is Kabir Singh."

While the movie is receiving some serious backlash for some of its problematic sequences, it has still managed to intrigue the audience at large. The film’s main plotline revolves around a brilliant but arrogant surgeon called Kabir Singh who falls in love with his junior at medical college. Things take a dramatic turn when the couple’s families enter the scene.

Kabir Singh, is being described as misogynistic when actually it is basically the story of a man who becomes addicted to alcohol and drugs after his girlfriend's family refuses to accept their relationship, and marries her off to someone else. The movie hit the screens on 21 June and has divided opinions sharply.

The lead character - played by actor Shahid Kapoor - is a man-child who belittles his girlfriend, Preeti Sikka, tries to control her life and objectifies women. The lead female role, as you know, is played by Kiara Advani. Singh is volatile and violent - in one scene, he threatens to rape a woman at knifepoint when she refuses to have sex with him. He eventually backs off, but it's no credit to him.

This is not the first time an Indian film has irked people for its treatment of women. Misogyny is not just commonplace in many Bollywood scripts but it is also deeply rooted in the industry. Stalkers are often glorified, toxic masculinity is normalised and even molestation is justified as a legitimate form of courtship. Films driven by strong female leads are rare, but women, including leading heroines, frequently appear in titillating dances.

But in a country battling patriarchy, sexist stereotypes and endless violence against women, the movie's creation of a hero out of a bully has been questioned by many. In a country plagued with violence against women, it is nauseating that Hindi cinema continues to showcase the worst kind of violent, male archetypes like in ‘Kabir Singh’. Yes, there should be creative freedom but is there nothing called a sense of social responsibility? Surely a balance?

And yet, the film has had a great opening, having earned more than 708m rupees ($10m; £8m) in just three days. Many have also lauded Kapoor for his "intense" performance.

The 38-year-old actor has starred in several critically acclaimed films, including Udta Punjab, which revolves around the drugs crisis in Punjab state, and Haider, which adapts Shakespeare's Hamlet to tell the story of a conflicted young man in Indian-administered Kashmir. So, some have questioned his decision to portray the role of Kabir Singh.

Thus actor Shahid Kapoor may be receiving flak for his choice of role and film with his latest outing, Kabir Singh, but the movie has set the cash registers ringing at domestic ticket windows.