Released on December 1st, Animal created shock waves in the industry with its storyline and dialogue. Directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, the film stars the heartthrob of Bollywood, Ranbir Kapoor, and the Saami Saami girl of the south, Rashmika Mandana. Bobby Deol and Tripti Dimri are the supporting cast of the film. The film was mired in controversy for its misogynist and violent scenes. Sandeep Reddy’s first film, Kabir Singh, was also criticized on similar lines. With a runtime of 201 minutes, the film is the longest film ever made.
Despite the heavy criticism, the film became the second highest-grossing film of 2023 after King of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawaan. The film earned a whopping Rs 887.69 crore and a position in the elite Rs 500 crore club. With this, it became the highest-grossing film of Ranbir Kapoor’s entire career as it surpassed the lifetime collection of Sanju, which was released in 2018. Apart from Animal, five other movies released in 2023 earned this mark: Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawaan, Pathaan, Rajni Kant’s Jailer, Sunny Deol’s ‘s Gadar 2 and Prabhas’s Salaar.
Karan Johar reviews Animal
During the Gallata Plus Pan India Roundtable 2023, Karan Johar called Animal the best film of 2023. He said that he doesn’t fear the judgement anymore, and he knows he is going to get dirty looks for having this opinion.
He opined that he loved the film for its conviction-based narrative storytelling and its ability to break myths. He feels the film broke everything that one thinks to conform to mainstream cinema. He also admitted to getting teary-eyed at the climax scene. He stated that he saw the film twice, first to watch it like an audience member and then to study it in depth. He feels the success of the film is an absolute game-changer.
He praised Sandeep and said this film is not a work of the average mind. It’s the craft of someone so individualistic and distinct. Watching it, he was blown away. He likes how Sandeep plays a popular song in a sequence and stops it whenever he wants. He lauded him for his conviction and said he wishes to have a conviction like his.
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Animal is a changing film
According to exhibitor Akshaye Rathi, animal has changed the syntax of cinema. He says that there has always been a craze for anti-hero films with massive 90s hits like Khalnayak and Don 2. Ultimately, it’s the storyline, and its impact is clear from the box office numbers.
Girish Wankhede also feels like the era of anti-hero films have re- emerged with movies like Pushpa, KGF, Jawaan and now Animal This trend has reached it zenith. The anti-hero element identified in animal is more abusive, temperamental and violent.
Sandeep’s response to the critics
Sandeep Reddy lashed out at the critics and called them illiterate and uneducated. He advised them to teach English in China because, beyond the use of English language, Vanga finds little to no use of their reviews. He further stated that he isn’t bothered about the critical reviews, as they’re not done in the right way.
About Animal
The film revolves around a father-son relationship played by Anil Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor. The premise is based love, betrayal, revenge and violence. Ranbir Kapoor (Ranvijay Singh) learns about the assassination attempt on his father by Bobby Deol (Abrar Haque) and goes on a revenge spear. It was released in five languages – Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada. The sequel of the film is titled “Animal Park”.
The film is all set to release on OTT platform Netflix on January 14th or 15th as per reports.
