Blown Out Of Proportion: Kiara Advani On Kabir Singh Slap Scene

Three years after its release, actor Kiara Advani has defended her controversial film Kabir Singh, which also stars Shahid Kapoor. "For me deep down it's a love story," said the actor about the movie which was slammed for romanticising intimate partner violence.

The Arjun Reddy remake drew a lot of criticism from viewers for some scenes that were deemed to be sexist. In one such sequence, Advani's character Preeti is slapped by Kabir, played by Kapoor. During a recent interaction, Advani opined that the scene was blown out of proportion, and Preeti leaving Kabir after the said incident isn't talked about as much.

Saying that the film is a love story deep down, Advani added that love is the only thing that will allow you to forgive certain behaviours in life. "Relationships are very complex and it’s very easy for a third person, even me, to say ‘get out of that relationship’ if someone has cheated on someone, someone has not been respectful of the other person, has slapped someone," said Advani, also adding, "But for two people in that relationship, it is another complication altogether."

Kiara Advani on Kabir Singh slap scene

Talking about the slap scene which sparked an online debate that raged for months, Advani ">said, "After that slap in the interval scene which was blown out of proportion, she leaves the man. You don’t see that, you forget about that. The fact that she comes back at the end when he comes back to her, is when a section wanted that she shouldn’t have taken him back. I feel that's what made it all heart at the end when they're confronting each other, and she tells him that 'you f****ed up' basically, but at the end of the day this is the love of her life that is in front of her, and she gives in."

Directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, Kabir Singh was a love story revolving around two medical students and how the protagonist's life unravels when the family of the girl he loves forces them to part ways. Apart from the slap scene, the film was also criticised for giving no agency to its female lead, body shaming overweight women and encouraging possessive behaviour among men.

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