The discussions surrounding director Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Animal have still not subsided, even though it has been well over a month since the movie hit the screens. On Saturday, director Anurag Kashyap also hailed the film and Vanga, dubbing him as the “most honest, vulnerable, and lovely human being.”
Despite facing considerable criticism for its perceived “glorification” of misogyny and violence, Animal emerged as one of the biggest Indian blockbusters of 2023, earning over Rs 900 crore globally.
Meanwhile, filmmaker-producer Vikram Bhatt recently shared his views on the film, expressing that society influences movies, and the reverse is impossible. During a conversation with Siddharth Kannan, he noted, “We sometimes depict characters as robbers or serial killers… In Yash Chopra’s Darr (1993), Shah Rukh Khan’s character (Rahul Mehra) kills his girlfriend. That doesn’t mean we are advocating for people to kill their girlfriends. That’s his character. [Shah Rukh kills his girlfriend in Baazigar] Perhaps Ranbir’s character in Animal is like that. It’s not glorifying such behaviour; it’s merely acknowledging that such people exist. Remember Al Pacino’s character in Scarface (1983)? Ranbir Kapoor is not like his character in real life. If he were, then the debates would make sense.”
“It’s a film, a character, and a story… If you don’t like the story, then don’t watch it; if you do, watch it. But why so much discussion surrounding a story? Films are not community service. They’re for entertainment and should be viewed that way. I think we make too much of a fuss about it,” he observed.
“I have heard since childhood that movies affect people. It’s not true; it’s the other way around. Society impacts movies; movies don’t influence society,” he asserted.
Referring to the controversial “lick my shoe” scene between Ranbir and Triptii Dimri’s characters in Animal, he remarked, “If I say the same thing to my wife, she will surely slap me. So what impact did the scene have? The wife who already licks shoes will continue to do so. That doesn’t mean others will follow suit.”
“Unfortunately, this has become a trend with social media; we have become too judgmental as a society. Everyone is a judge and wants to police others’ thoughts. We are heading towards online fascism,” he added.
Previously, screenwriter, lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar too had indirectly criticised Animal. “If there’s a film in which a man asks a woman to lick his shoe or if a man says it’s okay to slap a woman… and the film is a super hit, that’s dangerous,” he said speaking at the 9th Ajanta-Ellora International Film Festival in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
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Vikram Bhatt says discussions around Animal ‘too much’, cites Shah Rukh Khan’s Darr and Al Pacino’s Scarface: ‘Films are not community service’ – The Indian Express
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