Animal: The Revival of Theaters in India"
After the lockdown and the death mystery of Sushant Singh Rajput, one of the biggest movieindustries became almost dormant. All the movies were disasters, and Bollywood faced backlashandboycotts due to nepotism. People stopped going to theaters, and the charm of the filmindustrywasfading away. No movie was talked about at a significant level in the last few years until "Animal,"directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga and starring Ranbir Kapoor, hit the theaters and created chaos inIndia. This movie hurt the sentiments of so-called feminists. People formed clubs based ontheir opinions about the film, resulting in an internet war between movie lovers and feminists.
From the start, everyone knew this movie would be problematic because of the director, SandeepReddy Vanga, who was known for his anti-feminist stance. The censor board also imposed manyrestrictions on the film, cutting almost 20 minutes and demanding changes. They gave the movieanA certificate, meaning only people above 18 could watch it in theaters, which obviously limiteditsbox office collection. However, Sandeep Reddy Vanga accepted the terms and released it anyway, catching the attention of a huge number of people. For the first time in a long period, people andtheindustry were talking about a movie on such a large scale. So, let's talk about what makes this moviespecial.
The direction and background music of the movie are its real strengths. The direction is top-notch, with interesting details like the school bag and room design of Ranbir Kapoor's character, RanvijaySingh Balbir, showing signs of being a brilliant student who loves science and Michael Jackson. Later in the movie, he adopts a hairstyle inspired by Michael Jackson and knows how to fly a plane, whichmakes the movie realistic. His obsession with his father from childhood increases day by day. Thisobsession, another key theme of the movie, enhances its appeal. The father-son relationshipis shown on a very raw, ground level, with dramatic conflicts that form a significant part of the story. There is also a husband-wife conflict, making the movie a complete family drama.
In my opinion, this movie doesn’t deserve the backlash. People won't imitate the violent actions inthe film in real life. No one will murder hundreds of people alone, and no one will cheat ontheir wives because of a movie. I do understand that movies can influence people, but not to the extent
that this film was criticized for. I admit the film's pace is slow, but the backlash has only increaseditspopularity.
Yes, there are parts of the movie that might be problematic. Let's talk about them. There is a scenewhere Ranbir Kapoor's character, Ranvijay, gets angry at Rashmika's character, Gitanjali, and says shethrows tantrums during her periods. This was taken out of context by feminists. In the scene,
Gitanjali talks about Ranvijay's obsession with loving his father, which has worsened. He fights ghostsin his head, then explains that he changes tons of diapers in a day and faces health issues, yet is still ready to fight those who want to kill his father.
There's another scene where Ranvijay cheats on his wife with a girl who is a spy, and he is totallyokay with it. The whole film is about Ranvijay destroying himself with his alpha mindset and a bright future due to his obsession with his father. He slowly becomes the worst son, husband, and brother from the best.
In summary, the chaos around this film is due to its violent and anti-feminist themes. Peoplearemaking standup routines out of it, which is the first time I have seen a standup roast become moreof hate speech against a film. Despite the violence, the movie is also a family drama and emotional film. Ranvijay returns to his village after a long absence and family conflict, requesting his cousin's support
to protect his family from those who want to kill his dad and uncle. This shows that despite familyconflicts, no outsider will be allowed to hurt the family, highlighting the value of brotherhoodandloyalty.
Ranvijay becomes the bad guy, yet he worries about his son becoming obsessed with himjust as he
was with his own father. After all his bad habits, his son calls him a hero in one scene, and in theend, when everything falls apart and his wife leaves, his son runs to him, showing that he is also becomingobsessed with his father. This highlights the genetic issues and emotional depth of an actionfilm.
This movie shows violence and emotions at their peak in each scene, with well-connected scenesmaking it stand out. I have never seen a film like this before. Sandeep Reddy Vanga being very boldand giving us such a bold film takes huge courage, especially after spending big money on it. Ranbir
also not caring about his Loverboy image in society and taking on this problematic role is commendable. This film managed to be in the limelight and brought people back to theaters again. This movie is what bollywood needed.