Hussain mentioned that several of his women friends expressed their disappointment with him for being part of a film they felt glorified problematic male behaviour.
Adil Hussain on ‘Kabir Singh’: When ‘Kabir Singh’ hit theatres in 2019, it didn’t just become one of the biggest box office hits of the year. It also sparked one of Bollywood’s most heated debates. The film divided audiences between those who loved its raw intensity and those who criticised its glorification of toxic behaviour.
Now, years later, actor Adil Hussain, who appeared in a supporting role, has shared his honest thoughts about the movie and they come with a tinge of regret.
In a recent chat with ‘Mid-Day’, Hussain admitted that he ‘never read the full script’ before signing on.
“I was travelling a lot for ‘Mukti Bhawan’ then and didn’t get time to go through the entire script or even watch the original Telugu version, ‘Arjun Reddy’,” he revealed. The actor said he initially wanted to turn down the role, so he asked his manager to quote five times his usual fee hoping the makers would walk away.
But fate had other plans. One scene in particular caught his attention, Hussain thought it was “brilliantly written”, and that convinced him to accept the part.
However, when the film finally released, his feelings changed completely. Watching ‘Kabir Singh’ on screen made him uncomfortable. “When I saw the film, I thought, ‘What have I done?’” he confessed. “I found it misogynistic.”
The actor went on to say that, as an artist, he should have been more careful about the message a film sends. “It’s not about what the director Sandeep Reddy Vanga did; it’s my responsibility. I could have said no,” he added.
Hussain also mentioned that several of his women friends expressed their disappointment with him for being part of a film they felt glorified problematic male behaviour. “Many of them told me they didn’t expect me to be in something like that. It was important for me to say that I regret doing that film,” he said.
Released in 2019, ‘Kabir Singh’ starred Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani in the lead roles and marked filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Bollywood debut. The movie was a remake of his own Telugu film ‘Arjun Reddy’, which starred Vijay Deverakonda.
Despite its massive commercial success, ‘Kabir Singh’ faced widespread criticism for normalising aggression and emotional abuse under the guise of passion.