Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal sparked a debate among cinemagoers due to its misogynistic approach and portrayal of violence. Despite this, the film emerged as a monstrous success as maximum voted in favour of Vanga’s depiction of the story and Ranbir Kapoor’s unforgettable performance. As the discussion around the film continues, renowned filmmaker Karan Johar also expressed his admiration for the film and highlighted that the film was quite impactful.
Speaking at the Forbes India Leadership Awards 2024, Karan Johar, once again, shared his views on Ranbir Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna’s Animal. The filmmaker started by saying, “There’s been a lot of debate on Animal. People have expressed opinions, stood for it or against it – the filmmaker himself has been very vocal about his feelings. Personally, truly honestly, I saw it as a character film based on a character who was deeply dysfunctional, inherently violent, who had many emotional issues – and I loved the treatment.”
The _Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani_ director continued as he admitted not going “deep” into the “moral communication” of the film as he was impressed by what Sandeep Reddy Vanga had done through his storytelling and technical flair. He added, “I didn’t go deep into the moral communication of the film – I was so swept by the narrative and the way the filmmaker told the story of it through sound design, screenplay, dialogue, character development, that as a filmmaker, I loved it.”
Karan Johar, as he spoke further, also said that he wants to be honest about his emotion attached to the film, even if it comes with criticism or flak.
Coming to the film Animal, the film opened to a warm response from the audience who were in awe of the performance of all the actors. However, a section of people including veterans like Javed Akhtar and Swanand Kirkire slammed the film. Despite the sharply divided social media discourse around the film, the film managed to gross over Rs 900 crore. Notably, the film also featured Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, and Triptii Dimri in pivotal roles alongside Ranbir Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna.