Directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, the man behind the original ARJUN REDDY (Telugu/2017), I personally found KABIR SINGH creating a very similar impact as an almost frame to frame remake with all new faces and languages (Hindi and Punjabi). The film would have been ruined helmed by another director, but thankfully it has the same exciting execution, pulsating background score, likable songs and powerful performances more or less maintaining the same level.
The Hindi version does have its own minuses (as discussed ahead), but since here the makers deliver an almost replica film, with no change at all in its presentation - my review of the film also remains the same which you can read changing the names as required at the following link with the reference of Amitabh’s MRITYUDAATA and director Ram Gopal Varma.
Honestly, I was expecting that the director will come up with a much better presentation of the new-age girl studying medicine, with some retaliation in the initial scenes, explaining her reasons for falling in love with such man in the Hindi version. But he sadly keeps her as it is, as dumb as she was in the original film. Hence this remains the one aspect, I simply couldn’t relate to in KABIR SINGH too.
Besides, the Hindi remake (which works well in its first half), yet again proves that Bollywood perhaps cannot make a mainstream film without the completely forced references of Punjabi language, characters and songs keeping an eye on the big foreign market. Unfortunately this addition never really works in KABIR SINGH, especially in the classroom sequence when Shahid addresses the students in Punjabi with an entirely fake accent.
Yes, for many that would not matter at all. However I strongly feel that when the actors do take special classes/worskshops for the right pronunciation of English and Urdu words then why cannot they do the same kind of homework when it comes to Punjabi. Perhaps they take the language too casually with a careless 'Aiven Hi' attitude.
In addition, here in Hindi Cinema, we still go on muting the abuses even in an Adult rated film continuing a strange as well as illogical practice by the censors.
In short, as mentioned in the review of ARJUN REDDY, KABIR SINGH too has the lead actor Shahid Kapoor simply excelling in his portrayal of a troublesome surgeon and it largely remains a film of Shahid and Sandeep Reddy having its own downers. At the same time, it’s also not any great love story, more emphasizing on the suffering than the romance, lacking the expected magnetic pull and logical characterizations.
Rating : 3 / 5 (including an additional 0.5 just for Shahid Kapoor and 0.5 less than the original for the forced, unimpressive insertion of the caste references and the Punjabi characters/dialogues/lyrics)
Tags :
KABIR SINGH Review by Bobby Sing at bobbytalkscinema.com, New Hindi Films Reviews by Bobby Sing, New Bollywood movies reviews by Bobby Sing, Official Hindi remakes of Telugu films, Official Hindis remakes of Indian Regional Language Movies Remake of ARJUN REDDY
