Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal, released in December last year, turned out to be a huge box office hit despite its release generating a polarised response. Now, actor Ranbir Kapoor has spoken out for the first time about the criticism and said that social media played havoc. Read alsoSharmila Tagore slams Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal for misogyny, admits film can’t be ‘dismissed’

Now, during his appearance on Nikhil Kamath’s People by WTF podcast, Ranbir said that several members of the Indian film industry also expressed their disappointment to him.

The film sparked intense debate upon its release, with critics and audiences divided over its depiction of masculinity and violence.

Ranbir’s response

When the host claimed that films should not be a place from which society derives its sense of morality and that they were only meant to be entertaining, Ranbir shared that that was the intention behind Animal, but it was misinterpreted.

“Social media took a toll. They needed something to talk about, so they started claiming that it was a misogynistic film. The thing is that the hard work that one puts in… I know that the director had done Kabir Singh, who also faced the same thing, the hard work gets diminished. Because this label is put on it, which is not true, the perception stuck with this film. So the general public will speak highly of the film, but there are a lot of people I know who tell me, ‘You should not have done this film, we are very disappointed in you. ’ And a lot of people in the film industry (said the same thing). I silently apologize and say, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t do it next time. ’ I don’t really agree with them, but I’m at that phase of my life where I don’t argue with anyone. If you don’t like my work, I will say I’m sorry and I will try harder next time,” she said.

The actor confessed that he agreed to do Animal to free himself from his “good guy” image on screen.

“I had always followed a career path where I was doing good roles, trying to convey good social messages, basically playing the ‘good guy’, the romantic coming-of-age image that I had. So I thought it was very daring, suitable for adults. I was afraid that the public wouldn’t accept me. When the film was released, even though it did incredible numbers and we loved it, there is a large audience that found it misogynistic and wrong, in some ways,” he added.

Asked if he would remake the film, Ranbir said yes. Ranbir revealed that he was reaching a saturation point in his career and feels Animal was the right film at the right time to take it to the next level.

About the movie

Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal remains a topic of debate among fans and many in the industry even months after its release. The Ranbir Kapoor-starrer became a box office hit even after it was criticised for promoting male toxicity.

The film revolves around a troubled father-son relationship. Ranbir Kapoor plays the role of Rannvijay Singh, who seeks revenge after his father suffered an assassination attempt. The film also stars Bobby Deol, Rashmika Mandanna, Triptii Dimri and Anil Kapoor in important roles. A sequel to the film, Animal Park, is also in the works.