The latest movie buzz is around 'Animal,' and not for the right reasons. The Ranbir Kapoor-starrer has been called out by many viewers as well as critics as misogynistic and for its portrayal of extreme violence.
In a conversation with Galatta Plus, director Sandeep Reddy Vanga expressed his belief that none of his well-known film characters, such as Ranvijay Singh, Kabir Singh, or Arjun Reddy, are meant to be misogynistic in his opinion. “I don't know why these 15-20 jokers do."
When asked if he sees Ranvijay Singh (Ranbir Kapoor's character in 'Animal') as a misogynistic character, Sandeep said, “Misogyny is disrespect to women. This is the actual definition, right. So no. Even 'Kabir Singh,' even 'Animal,' even me as a person. I always feel my production house's name is Bhadrakali Pictures and I don't know why people think…not too many people, only these 15-20 jokers. But it's a wrong word to use on 'Kabir Singh,' 'Animal.'”
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Sandeep also said that the way films are dissected and criticized these days “has gone too high." He said that "it's too toxic."
Earlier this month, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Ranjeet Ranjan expressed his views saying that "the film's justification of violence and misogyny is shameful." Senior cricketer Jaydev Unadkat had was also of the same belief after he watched the film but deleted his tweet soon after. It read: "What an absolute disaster #AnimalTheFilm was! Glorifying misogyny in today's world and then tagging it as mere "traditional masculinity" and "alpha male" is a disgrace."
In an interview with Connect FM Cannada, the director said, "How can you say that 'it's torture for 3.5 hours', such a shameful thing to say that."
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The director also added that the harsh reviews and criticism has impacted the box office collections to some extent. Slamming the critics, he said, "Nobody speaks about the craft, the editing, sound design, because they are literally illiterate, uneducated when it comes to films. They have no sense of how to criticise the film or review the film."
On the other hand, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap spoke up in favour of the movie and said that it actually made people more aware about the concept of misogyny. "A film like 'Animal' has galvanised more feminists in this country than any other feminist film. It has created more discussion around misogyny than any other film. So it is doing something good,” he told OTT Play at the Kolkata International Film Festival.
