Kiran Rao says films like Kabir Singh glorify stalking a woman as wooing, also cites Baahubali as example

Filmmaker Kiran Rao recently spoke about the state of films in Bollywood that glorify stalking as a form of wooing a woman. As per a report by The Times of India, Kiran cited the example of Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Kabir Singh and SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali as examples.

What Kiran said

As per the report by The Times of India, Kiran spoke around the subject to say how stalking was glorified in many Bollywood films as wooing a woman. Talking about this, she mentioned the film Kabir Singh, which starred Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani in the lead roles. Kiran also gave the example of SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali to explain her point further. She added, “Another very big film, which I find fascinating, was Baahubali 1 (Baahubali: The Beginning). It started off with this exciting fight sequence, where this woman is leaping from tree to tree, and she is a warrior. But the hero delicately strips her of her agency and makes her just a fantastic romantic interest. I find it fascinating. It is (one of) the biggest films of Indian cinema.”

Earlier, in an interview with Film Companion, the filmmaker had spoken about how a few recent films with highly ‘regressive’ messaging have been minting money at the box office. She shared that these instances hurt her, and she hopes that big films also focus on breaking stereotypes and better messaging in the society.
On Kiran’s latest Laapataa Ladies

Kiran recently premiered her latest film Laapataa Ladies at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Set in 2001, in rural India, Laapataa Ladies follows the jolly mess that ensues when two young brides go missing from a train. The film boasts an ensemble cast, including Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava, Chhaya Kadam, and Ravi Kishan in pivotal roles.

Laapataa Ladies is produced under Kiran’s former husband Aamir Khan’s banner Aamir Khan Production and her own venture Kindling Productions. The screenplay and dialogues have been written by Sneha Desai while the additional dialogues have been penned down by Divyanidhi Sharma. The film is awaiting a release next year on January 5, 2024.