Kabir Singh
- Director
- Sandeep Reddy Vanga
- Studio
- T-Series Films
- Release Date
- 20 June 2019
- Running Time
- 172 min
- Language
- Hindi
- Country
- India
- Budget
- ₹60.00 Cr
- Box Office
- ₹379.00 Cr
Review
Shahid Kapoor delivers a raw, visceral performance in "Kabir Singh," anchoring what is fundamentally a character study of masculine fragility masquerading as romantic passion. Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga constructs his narrative with deliberate intent—transforming what could have been a conventional lovers-separated-by-class drama into something far more troubling: a portrait of entitlement and emotional volatility presented as devotion. The film's technical execution is competent, with cinematography that captures both the privileged spaces Kabir inhabits and the darker recesses of his psychological unraveling. However, the central relationship operates on a deeply uncomfortable logic where possessiveness is romanticized and emotional manipulation is framed as proof of love. Preeti's character arc, despite Kiara Advani's best efforts to inject nuance, remains fundamentally reactive—she exists primarily as the object of Kabir's obsession rather than as a fully realized person with her own agency.
What the film does accomplish is an unflinching exploration of how privilege and unresolved trauma can create a toxic cocktail of self-destruction. Kapoor's transformation from arrogant medical student to high-functioning addict carries genuine pathos, and there are moments where the screenplay pierces through its own problematic messaging to examine the hollowness beneath Kabir's rage. The supporting cast provides grounding, particularly in scenes that don't center the lead's emot
Storyline
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.
With his friend Shiva's help, Kabir finds a rented flat and joins a private hospital as a surgeon. To cope with his emotions, he abuses drugs and alcohol and names his new pet dog Preeti. Within months, he becomes a successful surgeon and a high-functioning alcoholic both respected and feared by the hospital staff. His self-destructive behaviour and
