Kabir Singh

About the film

Kabir Singh is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film co-written, co-edited and directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga in his Hindi cinema debut, and jointly produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar under T-Series Films and Murad Khetani and Ashwin Varde under Cine1 Studios. A remake of Vanga's own Telugu film Arjun Reddy (2017), it stars Shahid Kapoor as the titular protagonist, a surgeon, who spirals into self-destruction when his girlfriend, played by Kiara Advani, is forced to marry someone else.

Principal photography for Kabir Singh began in October 2018 and ended in March 2019. The film was theatrically released on 21 June 2019 and received mixed reviews. Criticism was directed at the film for its themes of self destruction and substance abuse, while Kapoor's performance and the soundtrack received praise. Grossing over ₹379 crore, it became the second highest-grossing Hindi film of 2019, and Kapoor's highest grossing solo-lead release.

Plot

Kabir Rajdheer Singh is the youngest son of a business tycoon Rajdheer Singh and studies at the Delhi Institute of Medical Sciences. He has a rebellious personality with anger issues that gained him the title of a bully. After having a brawl with the members of the opposing team in an inter-college football match, the dean asks him to either apologize or leave the college, Kabir chooses to leave but he stays back after meeting with first year student, Preeti Sikka.

Kabir and his friends announce to the student body that Kabir has exclusively claimed Preeti. Initially timid, she adjusts to his overbearing attitude and eventually reciprocates his feelings, developing a romantic and physical relationship with him. Kabir graduates with an MBBS degree and moves to Mussoorie for further education. Despite the distance, their relationship strengthens over the next few years. After Preeti graduates, she introduces Kabir to her conservative parents, but her father Harpal catches them kissing and throws Kabir out.

Harpal continues to oppose their relationship, despite Kabir's attempts to explain their love. Enraged, Kabir demands Preeti to choose between him and her family within the next six hours, or he will end their relationship. Preeti is later unable to reach him in time; feeling abandoned, Kabir injects himself with excessive morphine and remains unconscious for the next two days. Upon gaining consciousness, he learns that Preeti is being forced into an arranged marriage and gatecrashes the wedding party; Harpal has him beaten and arrested. After Kabir is released, Rajdheer ostracises him from the family for his antics.

Production

After the success of his debut, the 2017 Telugu film Arjun Reddy, writer and director Sandeep Reddy Vanga wanted to remake it in Hindi with Ranveer Singh. When it did not work out, he approached Shahid Kapoor. However, producers Murad Khetani and Ashwin Varde of Cine1 Studios, who acquired the remake rights for Hindi, wanted Arjun Kapoor to play the male lead. Disappointed, Vanga said, "I've come to know that the remake rights of Arjun Reddy have been sold and it would star Arjun Kapoor. I am caught in a dilemma, as I've already locked Shahid for the role. It's a very embarrassing situation for me. I don't know how I'll face Shahid." In April 2018, however, it was officially announced that Shahid Kapoor would star, with Vanga returning as director.

Bhushan and Krishan Kumar of T-Series also produced the film. The dialogue was written by Siddharth–Garima. Santhana Krishnan Ravichandran was selected as the cinematographer and Aarif Sheikh as editor. Vanga was confident that the remake would be even more hard-hitting than the original: "When I made Arjun Reddy, I wasn't sure where to draw the line in terms of representation of certain things. I don't think I'd have to restrict myself when it comes to the Hindi version. I believe I'll have more freedom in Bollywood." The film's title Kabir Singh was announced on 25 October 2018.

Like the Telugu original, Kabir Singh too begins with a voiceover from the hero's paternal grandmother, but this time she is reciting a Kabir Doha. There are also geographical changes; the remake is set primarily in Delhi and Mumbai. Instead of caste conflict as in Arjun Reddy, the heroine's father takes offence to Kabir's smoking and not being a turban-wearing Sikh. For the remake, Vanga said he deployed less English than the original. "I've also tried to retain the colloquial quality in the Hindi dialogue." About the name Kabir Singh, he said, "There's a lot of melancholy in the name Kabir and a poetic side too." Vanga explained his reasons for choosing this as the film's title: "When we started work on the Hindi script, it was a very exciting journey. Kabir Singh, as the protagonist's name, came naturally, considering the character's graph. Kabir Singh has the same punch and madness of Arjun Reddy."

Soundtrack

The soundtrack is composed by Mithoon, Amaal Mallik, Vishal Mishra, Sachet–Parampara (a duo consisting of Sachet Tandon and Parampara Thakur) and Akhil Sachdeva with lyrics written by Irshad Kamil, Manoj Muntashir, Kumaar and Mithoon. Harshavardhan Rameshwar composed the score. The song "Bekhayali" was popular even before its release, with several cover versions available on YouTube. The soundtrack was also physically released on vinyl record.

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