New Delhi:
Shahid Kapoor starrer Kabir Singh broke several records to become the highest grosser film his year but was also criticism my many for glorifying abusive behaviour of the male protagonist. The same conversations heated up after TikTok star Johnny Dada aka Ashwani Kumar’s murdered his alleged girlfriend, a flight attendant named Nitika Sharma. Now director Sandeep Reddy Vanga has addressed the debate and in his defence said the movie did not endorse murder.
For the uninitiated, popular social media user and a wanted criminal from UP charged with three other murders, killed Nitika Sharma after he got to know that she was getting married to someone else. He then went on to commit suicide last week. On investigation, Bijnor Police found out that the man was highly impressed by Shahid’s Kabir Singh and often posted images and dialogues from the film on his Tik Tok and other social media ccounts.
Ashwani Kumar seems to have learnt and resonated with the lead character, Kabir Singh’s aggressive behaviour and even enacted dialogues like ‘Jo Mera Nahin Ho Sakta, Usse Kisi Aur Ke Hone Ka Mauka Nahin Doonga’ in his videos.
Sandeep Reddy Vanga in an interview with Mid-Day said he said he was shocked to know about the development and felt sorry for the victim. He went on to say that people like Ashwani are mentally disturbed and often look up to Bollywood celebrities, politicians and sportspersons to find satisfaction in their deeds.
“If you see Shahid’s character in the film, he is a self-destructive person who is harming himself more than anyone else,” Vanga said while defending his film’s lead character.
Meanwhile, Janhvi Kapoor at the JIO MAMI Mumbai film festival during apanel discussion said, she wanted Bollywood films having female characters inspired by Kabir Singh. “There should be more roles that portray the uninhibited side of the female - roles such as the female versions of Kabir Singh or the Joker," said the actress.
