‘I don’t find it misogynistic’: Vijay Deverakonda on Arjun Reddy’s backlash

Vijay Deverakonda made his Koffee With Karan debut alongside his Liger co-star Ananya Panday. During his appearance on the show, Vijay discussed the backlash his hit film Arjun Reddy received for being misogynistic and anti-feminist.

The actor explained that he empathised with the personality and did not believe the film was misogynistic, but he did admit that it could be hurtful for some people who have previously been in an abusive relationship to watch.

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Vijay Deverakonda stated that as an actor, he prefers to “empathise” with his character. He stated- “If I’m judging him, I can’t play him. Any role that’s bought to me, I try and empathise with the character and if I can, I take that role. If something about it is very conflicting and I don’t understand it, or I don’t agree with it, I won’t do it. So if I did Arjun Reddy, I empathise with him. I understood why he behaved the way he did and the relationship he had with Preeti.”

“I didn’t find it misogynistic or anti-feministic or something. It seemed like two people who had a very unique relationship. That was their relationship and to them, it was love. I am no one to say if it’s right or wrong but they did it and they had a happily ever after life. They had a kid. You see the movie ending with a kid. But I’m not saying nobody should have a problem with it. You should have a problem with him.”

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Vijay did acknowledge that the movie could rub some people in the wrong way and said “Imagine you have been in a relationship which was abusive and then you see this film, it’s painful to watch this happening on screen. These are your worst nightmares as a woman, as a wife, or as a girlfriend and you see it playing out on a screen. You f**king hate it. And I understand that you disagree with it and I respect that you don’t like it,” he continued. 

Arjun Reddy is a 2017 romantic drama film written and directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga that revolves around Arjun Reddy (Vijay Deverakonda).

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Arjun Reddy is a rebel, and the movie that tells his story like a biopic is, too. In this boy meets girl tale, the young man excels academically and goes on to become a skilled surgeon. His issues with controlling his anger, however, are severe with scenes of him hitting his love interest Preeti and abusing her which received a lot of contempt from the audience.