The film defeated the Hollywood film “Avengers: Endgame”, “Joker” and the Academy Awards-nominated Indian film “Gully Boy” to become the most googled film of 2019 and Shahid, who plays the character of an alcoholic doctor, feels that the movie’s success was also credited to the controversy surrounding it.
In a recent chat with the English daily, The Hindustan Times, Shahid revealed what the success of “Kabir Singh” means to him. “Kabir Singh” surely was a controversial film and hence, a lot of conversations started because of which, the film became successful as also the most searched film of 2019. “In the end, it is the audience who picks which film is worth their time and money,” he said.
The actor also mentioned that a film is supposed to start a dialogue in society, which Kabir Singh did.
Another controversy surrounding the film was the defence of Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga for a scene in which the lead actors played by Shahid and Kiara slap each other.
In an interview with Film Companion, Vanga said, love, meant "the liberty of slapping each other." He later claimed the interview had been edited.