'Kabir Singh' Shahid Kapoor Defends Aggressive Characters In Movies: Suddenly It’s Very Critical...

Bollywood star Shahid Kapoor says actors playing aggressive characters today are criticised when in the past, they would become superstars for doing such roles. Shahid, who most recently appeared in romantic comedy Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya, believes a distinction should be made between an actor's performance and the actions of a character.

Shahid Kapoor stands by the portrayal of aggressive characters 

Speaking on the sidelines of Shell India's launch event, Shadid weighed his opinion on the debate of toxic characters’ glorification in movies. "This whole thing of ‘yeh aisa, woh waisa hai’, I think it’s very extreme. Over many generations, there have been actors who’ve done characters that could be deemed aggressive but they are called superstars or legends. Now, suddenly, it’s very critical,” the actor told PTI in an interview.

"I feel if something is done well and if the emotion is coming through (to) the audience, we should be respectful of that. You can like it or dislike but the quality of the performance and traits of the character should not be confused," he added.

Toxic masculinity debate in Indian cinema

Hindi cinema has witnessed a fierce debate in recent times about characters that have been accused of perpetuating toxic masculinity. Incidentally, the films at the centre of the debate were directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga -- first with Shahid-starrer Kabir Singh, a remake of Telugu hit Arjun Reddy, and then Animal, headlined by Ranbir Kapoor.

According to Shahid, the traits of a character are defined by the "script and the filmmaker and the quality of a performance is defined by what the filmmaker has brought out from the actor". He added, “That’s what connects with the audience. That’s how I see things, but everyone has their point of view.”

(with inputs from PTI)