Shahid Kapoor's latest film, Kabir Singh, although successfully running at the box office, has been slammed by critics and some of the audiences as being highly mysoginistic. The remake of the Telugu superhit Arjun Reddy, Kabir Singh is the story of the titular character who starts harming himself and becomes a drug addict, after his lady-love marries another man.

Though Shahid has delivered a power-packed performance, many are upset with the way the film has projected masculinity. However, Shahid's mother Neelima Azeem, has defended his film. It has been reported that Neelima said, "In Hollywood, actors have won Oscars for characters like these." She also questioned, "Tomorrow, if you play a psychopathic serial killer, will everybody watching the movie become one?" She defended her son's choice of the film and said actors have the right to play morally controversial characters.