Animal, starring Ranbir Kapoor, went on to receive Filmfare Awards and yet the Sandeep Reddy Vanga directorial continues to be caught in a crossfire owing to its content. The film has been facing allegations of promoting violence and for disrespecting the female characters. When a similar topic was addressed at the recently held FICCI Frames in Mumbai, the writer Saurabh Gupta, in an interaction with Ghazal Dhaliwal, defended the film.
In a particular video shared by Bruh India of Saurabh Gupta, the Animal writer has asserted that films were facing extensive pressure about spreading social messages and awareness, so they were keen on making a film, just for fun. “Cinema ke saath mardon ko sanitary napkin ki importance samjhana, cigarette peena, sharab peena kharab hai woh samjhana, itna bojh padh gaya hai, cinema jhuk gaya hai sir. Hum thoda maza karte hai na (Along with films, men were being made to understand the importance of sanitary pads, the side-effects of cigarettes, alcohol etc. Movies felt so pressured to live up to these and it seems that it was completely burdened by this. So, we thought, we will have some fun)”.
Apart from the violence, there were also many who accused the film’s team of Islamophobia since the antagonist Abrar Haque, essayed by Bobby Deol was a Muslim. Addressing the same, Gupta defended it by asserting that Ranbir too was a flawed character and added, “We felt it fit logically into the script. Now, we are realising that there is this view as well. But the hero is as much of a demon as the villain. And he’s a Hindu, but no one said that he was portrayed badly.”
Animal, co-starring Rashmika Mandanna, Anil Kapoor, Triptii Dimri, among others, is currently streaming on Netflix.
Also Read: Karan Johar DEFENDS appreciating Animal: “I didn’t go deep into the moral communication”
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