Ah, Bollywood— song-and-dance routines, melodrama and larger-than-life characters who often make you feel like your life is a poorly scripted movie. Today, let’s dive into a Bollywood movie so dense that even Emile Durkheim would need a drink. Enter our beloved Shahid Kapoor’s Kabir Singh—the cinematic blockbuster masterpiece where toxic masculinity and patriarchal fantasies collide while the ever-melodious Arijit Singh sings in the back, all with the title of “love story.”
He is the hero we don’t deserve.
Our hero, Kabir Singh. Played by Shahid Kapoor, Kabir is a brilliant surgeon who is angry, violent, and prone to abuse. I mean, he literally slaps Preeti. What else does he have to do in ordee to be singled out as an abuser? Let us not forget that Bollywood has a habit of combining intelligence with arrogance, he is celebrated for it. But let’s pause here and take a long, patriarchal sip of tea, shall we?
The Bollywood Problem: Romance as Stockholm Syndrome
Bollywood’s long tradition of portraying harassment and stalking as acts of love is a sociological problem on its own. In this movie, we see a textbook example of the “hero” being utterly obsessed with his love interest to the point where it’s not romance—it’s a hostage situation. It is a 'I am not interested in your input-situation'
Kabir’s affection is less “I love you” and more “You’re mine, deal with it.” Preeti’s silent consent is not the kind of message one needs in a society that exists in South Asia. Still, Preeti is held up as a virtue, as though being a quiet woman who is submissive is the gold standard of femininity. Durkheim’s concept of anomie—a breakdown of social norms—comes into play here, where society fails to give women like Preeti any agency or voice of her own. She’s little more than a prop in Kabir’s self-destructive narrative.
The Big Finish: Justifying Bad Behavior?
Let’s not forget the final cherry on top of this gigantic toxic sundae: Kabir’s “redemption arc.” After spending most of the movie in an hostile tailspin, Kabir is finally awarded for his bad behavior. He gets the career, the girl, and his family This neat little ending ties everything up in a bow, sending the message that it’s perfectly fine to treat women like garbage—just make sure you feel really bad about it afterward. Time for a standing ovation, everyone.
Conclusion: When Sociology and Cinema Collide
Kabir Singh is a perfect storm of problematic tropes, societal expectations, and gender norms. It’s a film where toxic masculinity isn’t just tolerated—it’s celebrated. From a sociological perspective, the movie serves as a case study in how media can perpetuate damaging ideals under the guise of romance.
So, dear Bollywood, the next time you try to sell us a "tragic love story," maybe check with a sociologist first. Or better yet, just don’t.
In the meantime, let’s raise a glass to Kabir Singh—a movie that somehow manages to be both a cinematic triumph and a sociological dumpster fire. Cheers!
Thank you Salena! That is a very good idea actually. What you just proposed could really strengthen this blog and the argument and add more layers to it. Will keep this in mind😀
I found this blog post on Kabir Singh both insightful and thought-provoking. I appreciate how it critically examines the themes of toxic masculinity and patriarchal values that the film perpetuates. The use of humor and sarcasm effectively highlights the absurdity of glorifying a character who embodies harmful behaviors while framing it as romance.
However, I disliked that while the post touches on the implications of Kabir's behavior, it could benefit from a more nuanced exploration of how these portrayals affect real-life perceptions of relationships, particularly in South Asian contexts. For instance, incorporating examples of how similar narratives in Bollywood have historically influenced societal attitudes toward gender and relationships could strengthen the argument.
Additionally, the post could benefit from acknowledging that Bollywood…
As someone who has never seen Kabir Singh, however, I have heard a lot about its tropes of romanticizing toxic masculinity and praising him at the end because he gets everything he wants as the blog mentioned. I watched "Animal" with my friend last semester and although it was entertaining, the way Ranbir Kapoor's character Ranvijay Singh epitomizes toxic masculinity and he too at the end gets what he wanted but at the risk of his relationship with his wife and children. Ranjivay Singh might have not been physically abusive but he too manipulates his wife throughout the movie, first into getting her to marry him and then by emotionally tormenting her by cheating on her for his father's sake???…
I was in awe when I watched this movie and I couldnt comprehend why such men with toxic traits, proud and violence are romanticized and even if we see women treatment and position in particular, preeti as a woman is not shown as an empowered and even if she is shown as miserable and dependent in the start, the traditional gender norms again confine her with the same man she fall in love in the start.
Your take on Kabir Singh is spot on! Another movie this blog reminds me of is Ae Dil Hai Mushkil where Ayaan is obsessed with Alizey to the point where he is bitter because she does not reciprocate his feelings. Similar to Kabir Singh, the movie is problematic on all ends.
I think the movie's approval for production in itself is an issue that needs to be dissected, given how we've learnt through Simone De Beauvoir that gender expectations are set very early on in childhood, and producing such movies is only perpetrating the wrong ideas about love and the kind of men we should be condoning in our society. The movie sets a horrifying stage for young generations to…