Shahid Kapoor as Kabir Singh was hailed by many as one of his most stellar performances. The actor portrayed a brilliant medical student who turns to a self-destructive path and becomes an alcoholic after the love of his life is forced to marry someone else. Kabir Singh received mixed reviews, with many suggesting that the character was misogynistic. The actor opened up about the film and his character in a recent candid interview.

In a candid chat with Bollywood Hungama, Shahid Kapoor said, "You can't take a simplistic view of a very complex character like Kabir. There are many layers to him. Some layers are deplorable and terrible. And some layers are actually beautiful. The layer of unconditional love, of love in which you are ready to destroy yourself was actually a very beautiful layer. The layer of violence and I never saw this as misogyny - because Kabir Singh's violent streak was not towards any particular sex. His aggression was inherent in his personality, it was not gender-related."