Bollywood / Loved 'Kabir Singh', he was supposed to be f**ked up: Janhvi

Almost every actor, director and producer has been asked their opinion on Kabir Singh by now, and looks like Janhvi Kapoor also has something to say. In the latest episode of No Filter Neha, Janhvi was asked by host Neha Dhupia if she would ever consider a role like Shahid Kapoor’s divisive one in Kabir Singh. The actor said that she would.

“I loved Kabir Singh. I understand people’s concern. I think cinema in our country plays such a big part in creating an impression on the minds of the general public, so I understand why people feel that it might encourage men to act a certain way. But it’s art! It’s not supposed to cater to societal norms, and what is right and what is wrong. It’s one man’s reality, it’s one man’s opinion of someone’s reality. It’s a grey character, that’s the point of it. If you only make sanitised, society-approved empty shells of characters, then what’s the point? He’s supposed to be f**ked up. Isn’t cinema art and isn’t art supposed to be a reflection of yourself. That’s maybe someone’s reality and that’s what they are trying to present on celluloid. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. Frida Kahlo painted really disturbing images but it was called feminism because it’s her reality. You can’t filter it, then it’s not art. Then where’s the heart in it?” she said.

Janhvi added, “Art is supposed to make you uncomfortable. At least it started a conversation. That’s the point of films like these. Wouldn’t it be worse if you see a film and just leave? This disturbed some people. Some people loved it and some people hated it. That’s art and that’s what it’s supposed to do.”

Kabir Singh was one of the most polarising films of 2019. While some fell head over heels in love with Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s film about an alcoholic, violent man who loses in love, others called out the film’s misogyny and toxic masculinity. Some celebs failed to see what the furore was all about, but a few, such as actor Parvathy and actor Taapsee Pannu, did see the film as problematic.

Janhvi will now be seen in Ghost Stories, a Netflix film made up of four shorter stories directed by Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee and Karan Johar. She features in Zoya’s segment and says that she had an enjoyable experience working in the project.

“I have recently done a short film for Netflix and I had a very enjoyable experience working on it. It feels good to work in a short film because mostly we do a film’s shoot over 50 to 60 days. It becomes very monotonous after a certain point. In a short film, however, you go in with a lot of energy and the shoot is over quickly, without distractions. In feature films, most of the time you have to juggle between two to three shoots unlike a short film where you get the chance to finish shooting at one,” noted Janhvi. In the Zoya Akhtar segment of Ghost Stories, Janhvi features alongside Vijay Varma and Raghubir Yadav.