As Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat is a surprise box office hit, Twitter aghast at 'toxic' film working: 'Not even good acting'

Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat has been criticised for propagating toxic masculinity and misogyny even as the film does well at the box office.

It was Thamma that was expected to soar at the box office this Diwali. The Ayushmann Khurrana and Rashmika Mandanna-starrer had everything going for it, from Maddock’s backing to the horror comedy tadka. Yet, when push came to shove, it was the lesser-heralded Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat that emerged as the true winner at the box office. Releasing on fewer screens with few expectations and no big name, the romantic drama managed to get a good start and is now set to turn profitable in just four days.

Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat stars Harshvardhan Rane and Sonam Bajwa.

Yet, the sleeper hit is receiving both love and brickbats from the audience. A section of viewers have praised the film’s simple storytelling and called it a ‘relatable’ tale of obsession. But on social media, many have wondered how a film with such ‘toxicity and misogyny’ is succeeding at the box office.

What is Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat about

Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat stars Harshvardhan Rane as an anti-hero who is obsessed with the female lead (played by Sonam Bajwa). The Milap Zaveri film deals with tropes of one-sided love, obsession, and sacrifice. It has earned ₹22.75 crore net in its first three days at the box office on a modest budget of just ₹25 crore.

Twitter surprised at its success

However, on Twitter (now X), many have criticised the film for not recognising consent and ‘glorifying’ toxic behaviour in the name of romance. One viewer wrote, “No a good movie, not respecting a woman's consent, mental torture is named as deewaniyat. For me, it was ridiculous👎The sorrow in the climax was not enough. You gave enough 3rd class content to misogynous generation.”

On Thursday, delivering a scathing assessment of the film and its success, another viewer wrote, “At one point, we have to hold the audience accountable too. This film literally glorifies toxicity using the ek tarfa pyaar (one-sided love) trope. I myself love commercial cinema, but this was not even good acting that you can let go of a bad story. You can’t blame Bollywood now.”

Hansal Mehta called out for supporting Milap Zaveri’s film

When the film began to do well, filmmaker Hansal Mehta congratulated Milap Zaveri for its success, and was called out on Twitter for supporting a ‘misogynistic film’. “This “sensitive, intelligent” man is busy congratulating the writer-director of those misogynistic films where ‘No’ means ‘Yes’. Calls it a success, not realising how deeply such trash will poison the minds of young viewers. Bravo,” a person tweeted to Hansal.

The filmmaker responded, “One always wishes films could change the world - that Shahid could heal divisions, that Arth could empower, that Saraansh could awaken empathy, that Nil Battey Sannata could inspire a million mothers. That Life is Beautiful could prevent genocide. But alas. Satya didn’t make gangsters out of men. Gangs of Wasseypur didn’t. The Godfather, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction - none of them did. Or did they? If films can poison, then surely they can enlighten too. Maybe even teach a bit of civility to you. Perhaps even how one colleague can congratulate another on their success without the need for virtue signalling and grandstanding.”

But not everyone has been against the film’s success. Film critic and trade analyst Anmol Jamwal tweeted on Thursday, “Your cringe may be their DEEWANIYAT. What I’ve come to accept with movies I don’t resonate with at all, but become popular, is that the criticism is welcome, but one shouldn’t shame someone else for liking something. ‘Each to their own’ is peaceful in such a subjective space!”