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Mumbai: Animal, the Sandeep Reddy Vanga film, which highlighted the ‘animal’ side of a man, became a huge blockbuster at the Box Office. However, it also divided the audience with its contentious content. While a section of the audience resonated with Vanga‘s idea of showing conflicted human emotions, especially men’s, another side called it out for its blatant toxic masculinity and glorifying absurd human psychology. Now, IAS Vikas Divyakirti, whose life was celebrated in 12th Fail, directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, reviewed the film and criticised it for what message it leaves in society.
During his interview with Neelesh Misra, Divyakirti called Animal, starring Ranbir Kapoor, a ‘fuhad (vulgar or scurrilous)’ film. He said films like these take our society 10 years back and the makers should analyse if this is really the kind of cinema they want to offer this generation. “A film like Animal takes our society back by 10 years. A film like this should not be made. You earned money. You showed that your hero behaves like an animal. There should be some social value, or are people working only for financial value (sic)?” he asked.
The popular IAS officer who is known and respected for educating many students and helping them prepare for civil exams via his YouTube channel, talked about a particular scene from the film. He questioned the psyche of the makers and asked about the lasting impact of the scene on the mind of a man who wants to test his girlfriend’s loyalty in the same way as shown in the film. He said, “After watching the film, what if some boys who are of a feudal mindset and are not that mature want to test their girlfriend’s love by asking them to lick their shoe, what then? Itni fuhad aur badtameez film hum bana rahein hai then it is very sad (It is sad when we make such careless and mean-spirited films) but both kinds of forces are always there in the world,” he concluded.
Many educated politicians, sportsmen, teachers, actors and artists have questioned ‘Animal’ in the past. Many have highlighted how makers of films like these can’t get away by simply saying it’s just a film when cinema has the largest influence and impact on any society. The film has triggered a conversation about respecting women in a country like India where even the nation is considered ‘Bharat Maata’. The conversations and debates continue to take place around ‘Animal’. Guess that’s the way forward! What are your thoughts about Divyakirti’s statements on the film?
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