Okay, first things first - all the accusations of misogyny and toxic masculinity by the Indian media and critics are tiresome. Today's critics hardly put effort into reviewing the actual product by the cinematic quality of it but more judge it based on how well it serves their agenda, and the agenda is to show they have an agenda. So yes, the lead in this film is indeed what they call a toxic male, very short-tempered, and quite full of himself, but boy, it's a movie! It's a character, and such characters do exist. Right, he's often just despicable, but is cinema here just to show us characters that we like? More than anything, the context of the film is important, and the context here is hardly ever serious.
So yes, indeed, if the film was a little more realistic, it could have been a strong drama about a man on the way to self-destruction a la Devdas, but the film never takes itself seriously, so why should we. The first half in particular is hardly ever convincing, especially the college portions, which are almost fantastical in how weirdly they're filmed. That the entire school is scared of that one guy who walks like a raging bull across the streets and yet he's that kind of genius who knows it all in his medicine courses while we don't see him take even a minute to read a book is a little funny. The entire feel of the story and the romantic portions employ this sort of senseless, silly style.
That being the case, the entire film is hardly convincing as a story, but what it has going for it is its wonderfully whimsical and playful spirit, which makes it really fun. Just watching the male lead chasing his maid down the stairs because she broke a glass is hilarious. Other than that, all the drama doesn't really touch the heart. You never really feel for the characters much even when everything seems serious. Shahid Kapoor is a hoot - highly entertaining and very much in character even if he doesn't reach you emotionally. Kiara Advani is pretty and the legendary Kamini Kaushal is a true bonus, and she gets great lines. Kabir Singh is a fun film with good music - pure entertainment.
