Filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga, who is currently enjoying the success of Animal, has reacted to veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar criticising his latest film. For those unversed, soon after Animal released, Javed Akhtar stated that the popularity of such films is 'extremely dangerous'. Reacting to his comment, the official handle of the movie Animal slammed the veteran celeb and called his art form a "big false".
Now, in an interview with Siddharth Kanan, Vanga said that Akhtar should have also questioned his son Farhan Akhtar for producing the web series Mirzapur.
Reacting to the lyrist criticising some scenes of Animal, Vanga said, "One thing is clear that he (Akhtar) didn't see the film. That's very clear in the comment that he didn't see the entire film. Abhi koi picture bina dekhe baat karta hai toh unke baare mein kya baat kare... Vo jo bhi ho, regular critic ho or best of the writers in the world... he's talking about my work, so obviously I'll feel bad. It's not only about him but anyone who is throwing stone on any art piece, why don't they check their surroundings first?"
He added, "Did he tell the same thing to Farhan Akhtar when he was producing Mirzapur? Pura duniya bhar mein jitna gaaliyan hai vo Mirzapur ek show mein hai. I have not seen the full show. I saw also around 15 scenes and when you see those scene in Telugu, you will really feel like puking. Why is he not checking his son's work?"
In an event in December 2023, Akhtar said that the image of a hero in cinema should be created keeping in mind what is correct and what is not. Without taking names, he said, "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." His comment was an apparent dig at Animal, in which Ranbir Kapoor's character was seen asking Tripti Dimri's character Zoya to lick his shoe.
Animal found itself at the centre of several controversies after its release, primarily due to Ranbir's character, Ranvijay, who was shown to be a self-proclaimed "alpha male". The film was slammed by a number of critics and audience alike, and it was accused of promoting sexism, violence and toxic masculinity.
Animal also stars Rashmika Mandanna, Bobby Deol, Anil Kapoor and others. It released in theatres on December 1 and is now streaming on an OTT platform.
