From Kuch Kuch Hota Hai To Ek Villain Returns: Problematic Man Child Characters In Bollywood

Everything is fair in Bollywood, love and war. That is, at least, the way our filmmakers see it. Bollywood is complicit in making problematic behaviours like body shaming and stalking seem romantic and humorous in the name of entertainment. Bollywood has repeatedly let us down with content that is objectionable on all levels, from lewd lyrics to normalising toxic masculinity.

Glorifying man child characters and behaviours is also a gift wrapped and given to us. We all loved these stereotypical adult men who did not act in the calm, serious, or sensible way that you would expect from someone his age, which appears to be quite problematic in movies about growing up as adults. Here is a list of some of the most problematic man-child characters of Bollywood.

Problematic Man Child Characters In Bollywood:

Gautam Mehra from Ek Villain Returns

The male lead in the film, Gautam Mehra, is portrayed by Arjun Kapoor. Since Gautam dislikes defeat, he constantly repeats, "marna chalega, harna nahi," even to his father. To demonstrate his fragile ego, the man causes a scene at the wedding of his ex-girlfriend. He then becomes fixated on Aarvi, despite her initially expressing no interest in him. Until she does, and he eventually turns on her because he is a complete villain and is only out to get her.

Picture credit: HT.

Ayan from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Ayan, starring Ranbir Kapoor, was the ultimate example of male entitlement. He utterly failed to comprehend that Alizeh simply did not love him in the manner he desired because he was unable to handle his rejection. He had been raised to think of himself as a genuine gem, so how could a woman reject him? Ayan was primarily a man-child who nagged about getting his way constantly and could not bear to accept that no one was in charge of caving in, to his whims and fancies.

A still from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Badrinath in Badrinath Ki Dulhania

Meet Varun Dhawan's Badri, another man-child who couldn't accept rejection. The man went crazy after his first rejection and started stalking Vaidehi relentlessly until her "no" suddenly changed into a "yes." Bollywood masala at its most problematic and cliche. Later in the film, on the orders of his backward father, Badri actually kidnaps Vaidehi to exact revenge for leaving him at the wedding.

Suggested Reading: Does The ‘Strong Female Lead’ Character Trope Have Reverse Implications For Women?

Kabir Singh from Kabir Singh

Kabir Singh has already been the subject of far too much speaking and writing, all of which slammed how toxic the man was. Since he had the guts to believe that he owns Preeti simply because he is attracted to her, this man took the proverb "everything's fair in love and war" far too seriously. Although he was wicked, misogynistic, and abusive, the entire movie portrayed him as an unconventional and outspoken lover.

Rahul from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

Rahul, played by Shah Rukh Khan in KKHH, was a toxic man child. Let's start with the fact that he simply refused to admit that Anjali was a better basketball player, and according to him, basketball is not a sport for women. He was the first to make fun of Anjali's appearance when she tried to woo him while decked out in her naivety. But then, years later, Anjali suddenly appears "pretty" and "feminine" in Rahul's eyes, and we see him swooning over her in a matter of seconds.