Ranbir Kapoor’s film Animal which made waves at the box office after it was released last year, received mixed reviews from critics and audiences. With a section pointing out the film demeaning women and promoting misogyny, filmmaker and Dharma honcho Karan Johar finally shared his thoughts on the Sandeep Reddy Vanga directorial, and going by his words, it seems he was touched by the film.
Karan, who appeared on the roundtable for Galatta Plus called Animal “best film of the year.” Stating that he watched the film twice, Karan said, “Two men are going at each other and they play that song and I have tears in my eyes when there is only blood. I felt something is wrong with me, something is wrong with him (Vanga) but something put together is very right about this film.”
Karan also spoke about the film being criticised for its misogyny and asserted, “You can debate about it, you can debate the politics, the scenes, but I am aroused and engaged by the cinema of this film. You get into the nitty-gritty of every film, and you can find flaws and red flags, but for me, the biggest green flag is the talent of this man who has conceptualised this film. I have seen so many good films this year, but the only film which taught me something was this film.”
Animal was one of the top-earning Hindi films of 2023 with box office figures north of Rs 800 crore. The debate around the film also reached the Parliament where Chhattisgarh's INC MP Ranjeet Ranjan slammed the movie for its "violent" content. Actor-singer-lyricist Swanand Kirkire also said he was “embarrassed” by the film.
Animal also stars Anil Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, Bobby Deol, and Triptii Dimri in pivotal roles. The film hit the big screens on December 1.
