Ranbir Kapoor’s ‘Animal’: Box Office Roar or Cultural Outcry? Navigating Success Amidst Controversy
Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor’s film ‘Animal’, which was released on December 1, is being declared the most successful film of the year after Shahrukh Khan’s film ‘Jawan’, but due to its full of sex and violent scenes, There is also criticism from critics and women.
The film has been given an ‘A’ certificate meaning it is suitable for adults only, but the film has so far grossed over Rs 200 crore worldwide.
The British Board of Film Certification has also classified it as an adult-only film because, according to the board, director Sandeep Reddy Wanga’s film Animal contains ‘several scenes of domestic violence in which men beat women, humiliate them forcefully.
It should be noted that director Wanga had earlier made two similar films which were very successful. First came the Telugu language Arjun Reddy (2017) and then its Hindi remake Kabir Singh (2019).
In these films, Vanga was also criticized for depicting scenes that humiliated women and for portraying rude and violent men as heroes.
According to the newspaper, “Rather than back down from the genre after criticism, he has made Animal, an even more violent film starring the worst type of person ever seen in Hindi cinema.”
The Hindustan Times, while analyzing the film, wrote that it has ‘violence at its peak. Only blood is seen in the film, blood is everywhere. It is full of horror and monstrosity. Vanga’s Animal features Ranbir Kapoor in a monstrous, terrifying, and haunted avatar. Do we love it? Of course!’
Journalist Sujata Narayan writes in The Indian Express that ‘By half-time, we either love Ran Vijay (the name of Ranbir Singh’s character in the film) or hate him, but we reject or ignore him. Can’t do it. This is not a film where you can check your mobile phones as Ranbir Kapoor never lets you take your eyes off the screen with his mesmerizing performance.’
Apart from Ranbir Kapoor, Animal also stars actor Bobby Deol, who commented on its success, saying, ‘I can’t believe it.’ And Tripathi Dumri is playing the lead role in this movie.
Apart from blood and fighting, the film also has bold sex scenes, with actor Ranbir Kapoor posing completely naked, which many critics have termed as a ‘bold step’ for a leading actor.
Reaction on social media
On social media, the film has been criticized for its depiction of women and the things done against them, along with sex scenes and nudity.
A journalist named Parth Panter has presented an old interview of the actor Aamir Khan, who is called ‘Mr. Perfect of Bollywood, and wrote that ‘This interview is true to the film Animal and its creator Mr. Wanga.’
Along with this, he wrote that ‘Directors who are not creatively talented enough to create a story, reflect emotion, rely too much on violence and sex.’
Aamir Khan says in this clip ‘You will be successful sometimes like this but it is not right, it is not good for society.’
He further said that it is our responsibility not to show anything in films that has a bad effect on the viewers.
Many have described the film as a very violent film. A user named Nezefira Zia wrote: “We didn’t expect such gruesome action scenes in Bollywood movies.”
Another user named Kanika Deorani wrote that Vanga’s film has scenes that “will make feminists angry but I am shocked why actresses like Rashmika Mandana, Tripathi Damri, and Kiara Advani do such films.”
In many places in the film, women are shown to be inferior, but for one dialogue, people have criticized the filmmaker in particular.
In this dialogue, Ranbir Kapoor says ‘You do so much natak (drama) to change pads four times a month, I am changing pads 50 times a day.’
A user good wrote: ‘Not four pads per month but at least four pads per month from age 11 to age 59.’ Have some basic information. God knows how you will treat the women of your house.
Similarly, a woman wrote that ‘one has to change not four times a month but four times a day. It shows how much time Vanga Sir has invested in writing the female characters.
