Actor Shahid Kapoor's mother Neelima Azeem, while defending his film 'Kabir Singh' against criticism by fans who called it "misogynistic", said, "In Hollywood, actors have won Oscars for characters like these." Neelima questioned, "Tomorrow, if you play a psychopathic serial killer, will everybody watching the movie become one?" She further said actors have the freedom to play morally controversial characters.