Sandeep Reddy Vanga: Kabir Singh never supported murder

Shahid Kapoor in Kabir Singh

As the conversation about TikTok star Johnny Dada aka Ashwani Kumar gathered steam on social media, netizens are again debating the implications of one of the year's most controversial films, Kabir Singh. Kumar - who was known as the TikTok Villain for his angry videos on the platform - had murdered Nitika Sharma, a Dubai-based flight attendant he was obsessed with and who was to wed in December.

As the Bijnor police investigated Kumar's background - who was wanted for three murders in Uttar Pradesh and subsequently committed suicide last week - it came to light that he would often post images of Shahid Kapoor from Kabir Singh. It appeared that the character's aggressive beliefs resonated with him - in one of his videos, the TikTok star mouthed Kapoor's dialogue from the film, "Jo mera nahin ho sakta, usse kisi aur ke hone ka mauka nahin doonga."

Ashwin Kumar

When mid-day reached out to Kabir Singh director Sandeep Reddy Vanga, he was shocked at the development. "I feel sorry for the girl and her family. It is unfortunate that people have lost their lives. As filmmakers, we are responsible for our craft and need to consider the repercussions, but never have my films [endorsed] killing anyone. Kabir Singh or even Arjun Reddy [the Telugu original] never [supported] murder," said the filmmaker, who has been battling brickbats since the movie hit theatres.

Vanga

On its release, critics argued that the Kiara Advani-starrer glorified the destructive attitude of the leading man - a dangerous step for cinema that has the power to influence the public. Point out that Kumar had quoted dialogue from the film, and Vanga says, "The man in question seems to have some psychological issue. Such people often look up to Bollywood celebrities, sportspersons or politicians. If you see Shahid's character in the film, he is a self-destructive person who is harming himself more than anyone else."

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