From Raanjhanaa’s Kundan to Rehna Hai Terre Dil Mein’ Maddy: Problematic Bollywood characters that everybody loves
From the obsessive stalking of Kundan in "Raanjhanaa" to Maddy's relentless pursuit in "Rehna Hai Terre Dil Mein," Bollywood has a long history of creating charismatic yet deeply problematic male characters. Despite their toxic behavior, these roles have become iconic and are often remembered with a strange sense of affection by audiences.
Kabir from Kabir Singh With Shahid Kapoor playing the role of Kabir, who is aggressively possessive, showcasing severe anger management issues and toxic masculinity, which the film seems to romanticise. His controlling behaviour toward the female lead, including slapping her, was heavily criticised for promoting abuse as a form of intense love.
Kundan from Raanjhanaa The story shows Kundan's constant, stalking, and intimidating search for Zoya with extreme love. Since he considers obsession and harassment with heroic love, his extreme actions, such as cutting his wrists and ruining her wedding, are problematic.
Maddy from Rehna Hai Terre Dil Mein Maddy, portrayed by R. Madhavan, was a charming stalker who would do anything to get Reena Malhotra's love, which included lying and pretending as her fiancé. Tricking others and crossing boundaries are normalised by this character, who suggests that using deceptive techniques to achieve a romantic objective is acceptable.
Rahul from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai Shah Rukh Khan's portrayal of Rahul shows superficiality as, at first, he values a woman just for her stereotypically feminine appearance, while ignoring his tomboy best friend Anjali. Specific, sexist beauty standards are further strengthened by his realisation of "love" only after Anjali changes into a traditional, saree-wearing woman.
Radhe Mohan from Tere Naam Salman Khan's character Radhe focuses on violent, passionate love and terrorises the female lead with his stalking and eve-teasing. A message about consent is portrayed by the film's narrative, which justifies his toxic behaviour as an incorrect but ultimately sincere display of affection.
Prem from Dum Laga Ke Haisha Soon after their forced marriage, Prem is first shown to be cruel to his wife, Sandhya, by openly mocking her and fat-shaming her. Given his past emotional abuse and body shaming, his eventual forgiveness, which is linked to a physical competition, feels unworthy.
Zoya from Raanjhanaa Zoya's character was also a problematic one because she took advantage of Kundan's obsessive love and manipulated his emotions to achieve her goals, especially to end her arranged marriage. Despite being aware of his weakness, her deliberate emotional abuse showed a self-centred and immoral use of his devotion.
Gautam from Cocktail Playboy Gautam, played by Saif Ali Khan, is a commitment-phobe who objectifies women and eventually chooses the "traditional" Meera over the "modern" Veronica, whom he rejects. This change maintains a problematic double standard by promoting traditional female roles while excluding the sexually liberated woman.
