Sandeep Reddy Vanga hits back at Javed Akhtar for Animal criticism

Filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga isn’t happy about Javed Akhtar’s recent remark at his film Animal. The veteran lyricist had called such films ‘dangerous’. In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Sandeep suggested Javed to check his son Farhan Akhtar’s production Mirzapur and said one might feel like throwing up after watching the hit OTT series due to its abusive language. Also read: Kangana Ranaut refuses as Sandeep Reddy Vanga says he would offer her a role
Responding to Javed’s words, Sandeep said, “It is very clear that he did not watch the film. It’s very clear in that comment that he did not see the entire film. Now if someone is talking without watching the film, what can I say about them? Obviously, you feel bad because it is very clear that he has not seen the film and not only about him; anybody who is throwing stones on an art piece, why don’t they check their surroundings first?”
He added, “Why didn’t he tell the same thing to Farhan Akhtar when he was producing Mirzapur. Duniya bhar ke gaali Mirzapur ek show mai hai (the series is full of abuses) and I haven’t watched the whole show. When the show was translated to Telugu, if you watch that, then you will feel like puking. Why is he not checking his son’s work?”
Animal, directed by Sandeep, has been in the debate ever since its release. It stars Ranbir Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, Bobby Deol, Anil Kapoor and Triptii Dimri in the lead. Amid mixed reviews from critics and audiences, the film was among the highest-earning films of 2023 and grossed more than ₹900 crore worldwide.
Javed Akhtar is among the many celebrities who criticised the film for promoting misogyny and violence. Jave had said recently at the Ajanta Ellora International Film Festival in Aurangabad, “If there’s a film in which a man asks a woman to lick his shoe or if a man says it’s okay to slap a woman… and the film is a super hit, that’s dangerous.”
His comments were about a controversial scene where Ranbir’s character Ranvijay asked Triptii’s character Zoya to lick his shoe and prove her love for him. Whereas, the slapping was seemingly in reference to Sandeep’s 2019 film Kabir Singh, featuring Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani.