One is a romantic classic that has managed to stand the test of time and is treated as a literary staple. The other is a Hindi Bollywood film released last year that has drawn equal parts hate and acclaim for its characters. At first glance, there seems to be as much in common between these two as chalk and cheese. 

But if we look beyond perfunctory appearances, the male leads of both works have a lot in common. Both are tortured men who are unable to be with the love of their life and thus proceed to destroy every ounce of happiness in the lives of the people around them. Heathcliff in the latter sense proves to be a darker character than Kabir as the novel also proceeds to tell how he purposely ruins the life and love of the next generation of Earnshaw-Linton family whereas Kabir in his pain is oblivious to how his addictions are ruining the life of the people around him.

However, there is one stark difference which pointedly marks Emily Bronte as a master of her craft and that is her character development. Unlike the character of Preeti who just sheepishly accepts all of her misfortune, Catherine is a strong-minded woman who owns the fact that she has made wrong decisions but still loves Heathcliff.

Ultimately, both of these works have to be judged with the intention that they were made. While Kabir Singh is a glorified character with his questionable actions being played off as humour or drama, Heathcliff is written as someone who is written as an anti-hero and knows his actions are morally wrong which is what ultimately explains why one is so criticised and the other celebrated.