Even as controversy continues to rage around Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Hindi film Animal, Anurag Kashyap has called him the “most misunderstood, judged and reviled” filmmaker. “Had a great evening with Sandeep Reddy Vanga. The most misunderstood, judged and reviled filmmaker at the moment. To me he is the most honest, vulnerable and a lovely human being. And I really don't give a f*** what anyone thinks of him or his film,” he wrote in an Instagram post on January 12, Friday.
Sharing a photo of himself along with Sandeep, Anurag added, “I wanted to meet the man and I had questions and he answered everything I asked of him about his film that I actually saw twice. Thank you for being patient and being yourself. 40 days since I first saw Animal and 22 days since I saw it the second time. The biggest game changer of Hindi cinema in the longest time and a film whose impact (good or bad) which can't be denied. And the filmmaker who takes it all on his chin. Great evening spent with him.”
Animal is a gangster-flick starring Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna. The film, which was released in December 2023, was widely criticised for its glorification of toxic masculinity, misogyny, and Islamophobia. Sandeep also drew flak for lashing out at women critics who had written negative reviews and unleashing an army of trolls on them.
Also read:
Animal review: An overlong, tedious circus of low-IQ alpha males
Animal’s Islamophobia and its many parallels to the Hindutva project