Bhushan Kumar credits Animal's success ‘solely to Sandeep Reddy Vanga': He predicted film's ₹50 crore opening

Hindustan Times

03-05-2025

Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Animal created a stir at the box office upon release. Despite receiving criticism for its misogynistic tone and violence, the film turned out to be a blockbuster. In a recent interview with ANI, the film's producer Bhushan Kumar credited Vanga for its success and recalled how he had predicted the film's bumper opening. (Also Read: Sandeep Reddy Vanga says Bollywood bashed Animal but praised Ranbir Kapoor: 'I'm not jealous of him but…')
When asked who he would credit for Animal's success, Bhushan said, "Hai toh puri team ki lekin sabse zayada shrey main director ko dena chahunga kyunki Sandeep ka confidence level jo tha film ko leke, voh ek alag level pe tha. Kyunki different type ki film thi aur actor bahut interested that ki is tarah ki perfomance maine dii nahi hai. Par kisiko nahi pata tha kitni yeh film work karegi. Kitni criticism hui film ki uske bawajood bhi film ne itna bada number kiya" (I would give the most credit to the director because Sandeep's confidence in the film was on another level. It was a different kind of film, and the actor was very interested in doing a performance like this—something he hadn't done before. But no one knew how well the film would actually work. Despite the heavy criticism it faced, the film achieved huge numbers).
He added, 'And today, whether you check Ormax or anywhere else, the most anticipated upcoming film is Animal Park. So this was entirely the director's conviction. I would solely give the credit to Sandeep. When I saw the first cut, I told him it's a very lengthy film, but Sandeep told me, 'Sir, don't ask me to cut anything. I am super confident it will do great business; it will open at ₹50 crore.''
The clip surfaced on Reddit, and fans couldn't agree more with Bhushan. One of the comments read, 'Exactly. Vanga gave a blockbuster with zero box office pull, actors like Shahid Kapoor and Deverakonda. He proved himself twice before Ranbir. It was definitely people being excited for a Kabir Singh director's movie, not just another Ranbir movie.'
Another wrote, 'Yeah, duh, how is this debatable? It would have grossed well no matter who was the lead. Pure Vanga show.' Another commented, 'He's right. Vanga drove that film from front to back, and the film earned the money it did due to Vanga. Say what you want, but Vanga was the star as well as the director.'
Helmed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, the action drama featured Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Rashmika Mandanna and Triptii Dimri in key roles. The film followed the story of Ranvijay "Vijay" Singh, the son of a powerful industrialist, and his troubled relationship with his father, which becomes further strained as he undergoes a brutal transformation and sets out on a path of vengeance and destruction following an assassination attempt on his father.
The film received criticism for its violent and misogynistic tone. Celebrities like Javed Akhtar also slammed it. However, despite the backlash, the film not only took a bumper opening of ₹63.8 crore in India but also went on to earn ₹915 crore worldwide, thus emerging as a blockbuster. Now, fans are eagerly awaiting the release of the sequel, which is titled Animal Park.