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Kabir Singh





         Meet Kabir Singh – the kind of boyfriend, who is aggressive, obsessive and would go to any extreme for his girl. He is all in, or nothing at all. As a senior and a topper in one of Delhi’s most reputed medical institutes, he wields immense power. Thanks to his lethal anger issues, there are few who would want to mess with him. By his own admission, he becomes a rebel with a cause as soon as he sees his junior in college Preeti (Kiara Advani). For him, it is love at first sight. But this is far from a meet cute romance, with mush gush and the regular romantic toppings. It immediately gives Kabir’s unsettled and self-destructive streak a reason to manifest. Thus, begins the real journey of his character into the deep dark abyss of chasing the love of his life. Shahid’s performance lets the character get away with a lot of vices like womanizing, drug addiction, alcoholism and brash male toxicity. For some, his actions and recklessness might seem problematic, but that is evidently his character sketch, and Shahid plays it with brutal honesty. Shahid Kapoor completely surrenders himself to the extremism of Kabir Singh. The powerhouse performer plays each and every shade of Kabir with such passion and perfection that his conviction makes you root for him, even when he is far stretched from being the picture perfect lover boy. It is only because of Shahid’s strong performance that many of his characters’ excesses seem justified. In terms of screen space, no one comes close to the leading man, not even the woman he is so obsessively in love with, Kirara Advani. For most part, Kiara remains demure and is left to use silence as her only tool for performance. With such limited scope, she never really gets a chance to shine. Shahid’s trusted friend Shiva (Soham Majumadar), on the other hand, gets ample opportunity to show solid support even when his friend is way out of line.

The film’s conflicts in the second half start becoming repetitive. The pace of the film becomes an issue with a runtime that is undeniably long. Thankfully, the realism and build up to Kabir’s deterioration is well executed and so is the practical support that he gets from his family. Writer-director Sandeep Vanga Reddy, who also helmed the Telugu original, makes his hero vulnerable but not weak enough to feel sorry for.

The remake stays mostly true to the original. However, the original had better chemistry between the lead actors, hence the love story seemed more effective. Also, Kabir Singh is a tad more humane than Arjun Reddy while being equally intense. He always shows up looking dapper, even in the most dire conditions. So it isn’t a surprise that the most pretty girls, including a heroine Jia (Nikita Dutta), falls for his unabashed charm. Film’s music compliments the narrative with its soulful renditions in the background.

While Kabir Singh is a welcome change from stereotypical love stories, this kind of love affair needs some getting used to. If you can generally accept the fact that human beings can be flawed (sometimes deeply flawed), you will be able to stomach this rebellious story of love with extreme madness, often lacking rationale and reason. Through his protagonist, Sandeep bets all his cards on his leading man, making sure you either love him or hate him, but you can’t ignore him.






कबीर सिंह नशे की हालत में घर से निकाला हुआ बर्बादी की कगार पर पहुंच चुका एक होनहार सर्जन है। कहानी फ्लैशबैक में जाती है, जहां पता चलता है कि कबीर गुस्से पर काबू न पा सकनेवाला एक ऐसा मेडिकल स्टूडेंट है, जो टॉपर होने के साथ-साथ फुटबॉल का चैंपियन भी है, मगर गुस्सैल होने के कारण किसी के भी सिर या हाथ-पैर तोड़ देना उसके लिए आम बात है। उसकी हरकतों के कारण उसे कॉलेज से सस्पेंड कर दिया जाता है। वह कॉलेज छोड़नेवाला ही होता है कि उसकी जिंदगी हमेशा के लिए बदल जाती है। उसे कॉलेज कैंपस में प्रीति सिक्का (कियारा अडवानी) जैसी 19 साल की मासूम, खूबसूरत और सिंपल लड़की दिखाई देती है। पहली नजर के प्यार का दबंग कबीर पर कुछ ऐसा असर होता है कि वह पूरे कॉलेज में ऐलान कर देता है कि प्रीति उसकी है और उसकी तरफ आंख उठाकर देखने वाले की वह आंखें फोड़ देगा। अब कबीर मेडिकल कॉलेज के हॉस्टल में प्रीति की परछाई बनकर खुद सर्जन बनता है और प्रीति को डॉक्टर बनने में उसकी मदद। मगर तभी हालात कुछ ऐसे होते हैं कि रुढ़िवादी परिवार के दबाव और कबीर के गुस्से के कारण प्रीति की शादी कहीं और कर दी जाती है। उसके बाद कबीर सेल्फ डिस्ट्रक्शन की वे तमाम हदें पार का जाता है, जो एक आम लड़का कभी न करता। 

 देखा जाए तो निर्देशक संदीप रेड्डी वांगा की 'कबीर सिंह' एक लव स्टोरी है, मगर कहानी को कहने का निर्देशक का अंदाज बेहद निराला साबित हुआ है। उन्होंने कबीर के रूप में शाहिद को जिस तरह से ओवर प्रॉटेक्टिव, ओवर ऑब्सेसिव, हिंसक, नशे और सेक्स का आदी दिखाया है, उसे अपनाने में दर्शक को थोड़ा समय लगता है, मगर फिर किरदार की ईमानदारी और मोहब्बत के लिए फना हो जाने का जज्बा आपको उसके करीब ले जाता है। 3 घंटे की अवधि थोड़ी लंबी लगती है। खासतौर पर मध्यांतर के बाद दोहराव मालूम होता है। कहीं पर फिल्म भारी भी महसूस होने लगती है, मगर सुघड़ किरदार माहौल को हलका बना देते हैं। यह निर्देशक की समझदारी ही है कि हिंदी के ऑफिशियल रीमेक को बनाते समय में उन्होंने उसे मूल फिल्म की तरह ही रहने दिया। आईएमडीबी पर इस फिल्म की रेटिंग 8.1 है। 

कबीर सिंह के रूप में यदि इसे शाहिद कपूर के करियर की उत्कृष्ट परफॉर्मेंस कहा जाए, तो गलत न होगा। एक अदाकार के रूप में उन्होंने इस किरदार को पूरी बेहयाई से जिया और वही उनको एक अभिनेता के रूप में परिष्कृत करता चला गया। शाहिद पहले भी इस तरह के जटिल किरदारों को संस्मरणीय बना चुके हैं, मगर इस बार वह अपने चरित्र को दीवानगी से जी गए हैं। कियारा बेहद खूबसूरत लगी हैं और उन्होंने कम संवादों और स्क्रीन स्पेस के बावजूद आंखों से अभिनय किया है। फिल्म में दोस्त बने शिवा के रूप में सोहम मजूमदार की भूमिका उल्लेखनीय है। उन्होंने जिस सहजता और सरलता से कहानी में दोस्ती के फर्ज को निभाया है, वह मनोरंजन करने के साथ-साथ दिल को भी छू जाता है। अर्जन बाजवा, सुरेश ओबेरॉय और निकिता दत्ता ने अपनी भूमिकाओं के साथ इंसाफ किया है। दादी के रूप में सीनियर अभिनेत्री कामिनी कौशल को देखना सुखद साबित होता है। 

फिल्म का संगीत और बैकग्राउंड म्यूजिक दमदार है। संगीतकार सचेत-परंपरा के संगीत में 'बेखयाली' गाना रेडियो मिर्ची टॉप ट्वेंटी चार्ट में पांचवें पायदान पर है और मिथुन का संगीतबद्ध गीत, 'तुझे कितना चाहने लगे' ग्यारहवें नंबर पर है। 

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