FlippED is An ED Original Style wherein two bloggers come together to share their opposing or orthogonal perspectives on an interesting subject.
We’re back with FlippED!
Kabir Singh has become THE talk of the town, right from earning a name in 200 crore club to promoting toxic masculinity. That made our bloggers wonder if the outrage would have sustained if Kabir Singh was a woman. Read the opposite perspectives of our bloggers and pick your side!
A female character would never be criticized for being sloppy, aggressive or toxic. Trust me, I am a feminist.
~ Blogger Anam’s perspective
First of all, I’m not a fan of Kabir Singh, but it would be tad hypocritical of me to think that a female character wouldn’t have enjoyed the leverage of being ignored by the censors and escaping the criticism, a character like Kabir Singh had to face, as a male.
I’m not gonna take you too far into the past, but how many of us even bothered to notice that the character of Safina was quite similar to the character of Kabir Singh. The woman said “mere boyfriend ke saath gulu gulu karengi toh dhoptoingi na usko” and the audiences merely laughed.
A controlling, dominating and insecure girlfriend who didn’t think twice before physically attacking another woman and got away with it, without bringing herself into notice. Not to forget, she too was the female protagonist of the movie.
A character like that could influence men and women to be violent, controlling and insecure to the point that the person wouldn’t care any less even if she goes to the jail.
Coming back to the movie, Preeti did slap him multiple times in the movie. While I am not justifying Kabir Singh for slapping her, I personally find such a relationship toxic. You cannot slap your partner. Even if you’re a woman. Period.
For me, the character of Kabir Singh believed that world revolves around him and he could do whatever he wants to do, but Pride is not gender centric. If you haven’t seen some women taking pride over their beauty and treating men like bees buzzing around them, then have you even been to a regular college? Remember Poo from ‘Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham’? Rang a bell?
Most often people generalize women as soft and tender which is stereotypical of them. Most women show violent streaks and toxic behavior that they easily get away with. If I am capable of standing up for the rights of women, I should be able to accept the shortcomings as well.
Such s**t won’t be taken from the female characters because “sanskaar” is everything
~ Blogger Rashmi’s perspective
Kabir Singh is this outrageous over-possessive over-controlling lover, who went to all extents to protect and retain his property a.k.a. Preeti. And when he begins to lose control over her, he goes bonkers and sets on a mission to destroy the world to regain his girl.
He creates rampant ruckus throughout the movie. From prohibiting other people from putting colour on his ‘bandi’ on Holi to beating people and much more- all in the name of love.
But the question is, will such s*** will be taken from the character had she been a female and not a male?
Well, the answer is a clear-cut no. I really can recall several female characters from Bollywood movies, who were labelled as “wild cat” and “lioness” in a derogatory sense by her counterpart male character.
In Bollywood, women have always assumed the “bechari naari” when in distress. When she steps out of that dichotomy and assumes the reckless “male” roles, she is shunned by the society. Kabir Singh’s obsessive chasing of Preeti, his post break-up madness and insane drinking and smoking were treated as just another man resorting to these methods to get over his break-up.
But, how comfortable would we be had it been a woman sabotaging furniture and piping down litres of alcohol after such a scenario as his? Clearly, the character would be criticised as “un-sanskaari”. Why the double standards in place… if it is acceptable for a man to create havoc after a personal loss, why does it become an issue when a woman does it?
Find The Bloggers @Anam_Seraj, @rashmi
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