New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS): When "Kabir Singh" hit the screens last year, it started a whole new debate as many thought that its lead actor Shahid Kapoor played a misogynistic hero. His co-star Anurag Arora says it's not necessary that a film should always be a message-oriented one.

Anurag had essayed the role of Harpal Sikka, father of the film's female protagonist Preeti, essayed by Kiara Advani in "Kabir Singh".

Asked about the negative response by a section of the audience, Anurag told IANS: "A film should be seen like a film. Why to take it like it should be an inspirational thing every time? This is a story of a person, and in real life, there are people like him. I have seen people like Kabir Singh in real life. It is not always necessary that a film should be message-oriented."

"People took it too seriously. Why so serious about it? If you look at 'Raman Raghav 2.0', Nawazuddin Siddiqui played a serial killer in it. That doesn't mean that you become a serial killer. There are so many things happening in our society, so people will be making films on them. You cannot always judge them saying that 'this is giving a bad message or so'," he added.

Anurag is currently seen as an army officer in the TV show "Ek Duje Ke Vaaste 2".

"It is always fascinating... the army. There is always an attraction. The army people have different lifestyles. I see this as an opportunity to pay my tribute to the Indian Army," said the "Fukrey" actor.

He will be seen reprising his role as Sub-Inspector Jairaj Singh in the second season of "Delhi Crime".

"It will be the same character with a different case," he said.

He has another web series, "Patal Lok". "It is a crime thriller involving the police and criminals," he shared.

As for films, he will be seen in "Roohi Afza", also starring Janhvi Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao.