Kabir Singh movie review: Shahid Kapoor's film is a better version of already loved Arjun Reddy

Dark love stories are not easy to make and for many, may not be easy to watch as well. Kabir Singh, an official remake of Telugu film Arjun Reddy, is one such movie that has a lot of negativity but keeps you hooked to the screen till the end.

STORYLINE

Kabir Singh (Shahid Kapoor), a medical college topper, is someone who is known for his bad temper. Being the most popular and feared guy on the campus, he has a big hold in the general functioning of the college.

He comes across Preeti Sikka (Kiara Advani), a new student in the college, and it turns into love at first sight. He is extremely possessive about her, and whoever dares to misbehave with Preeti, has to face Kabir's infamous wrath.

Despite being quite opposite in nature, Preeti too falls for him soon, and there begins a love story. However, things do not stay hunky dory for too long as the girl's family is strictly against the idea of getting Preeti married to Kabir.

Being a girl, "who has to be in restrictions" (as she herself said), Preeti gets into a difficult situation of choosing between her love and her family. Things turn worse after Kabir and Preeti get into a nasty fight, following which, the guy suffers overdose of drugs, and wakes up after two days only to be informed that Preeti has already been forced to marry another man.

This heartbreak turns Kabir into an alcoholic and drug-addict. Unable to forget the girl, he sets himself into a self-destructive path. Although his friends and family try hard to bring the exceptional surgeon back on track, they fail.

Having already gotten tags like drug-addict and womaniser, things continue to worsen for him as he almost reaches the point of dying. To know what eventually happens to Kabir and his lady love, you have to watch the film.

PERFORMANCES

Shahid Kapoor has certainly delivered one of his best performances in Kabir Singh. He pulls off all the varied emotions of anger, love, sorrow, regret, passion with absolute precision. He makes it look like he is tailor-made for the role.

Kiara as a soft-spoken girl looks adorable, but her character grows a lot as the film progresses. She adds good value to the plot. Soham Majumdar aka Shiva as Kabir's best friend is a surprise element in the film. He not only adds humour but also deep emotions to the film.

The supporting cast including Arjan Bajwa, Suresh Oberoi and others do well too in their limited screen presence.

POSITIVES

Kabir Singh is an unusual love story that has a good dose of romance, humour, action and emotion. The two lead characters are extremely interesting to watch, and the film has some really impressive dialogues too.

The direction is brilliant, and songs are soothing to the ears. Performances, especially of Shahid, is exceptional. Background score further adds weight to the emotions.

NEGATIVES

The movie may appear a little long for many viewers. It should have been crisper. Making an abusive, ill-tempered drug-addict look like a hero may appear disturbing to some, but that is just the nature of the character.

VERDICT

Kabir Singh is a well-directed interesting movie, whose biggest USP is Shahid's performance. The film never bores and keeps you hooked to the screen with his character's crazy antics. Although it is a remake of already much loved Arjun Reddy, Kabir Singh is a better version of the original in various terms like background score, presentation and performances.