'Sandeep Reddy Vanga might get angry at me again, but…': Swanand Kirkire calls out ‘hypocrisy' in Animal

Hindustan Times

22-04-2025

National Award-winning writer and lyricist Swanand Kirkire spoke about how Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal disturbed him and expressed his disappointment with the film's overwhelming reception. In an interview with The Lallantop, he also called out the film's hypocrisy, dismissing poetry in a dialogue and later using it to create a sense of thrill. (Also Read: Swanand Kirkire: Sad that there's inferiority complex among native Hindi-speakers)
Swanand Kirkire cited examples of films such as Mehboob Khan's Aurat, Guru Dutt's Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Vikas Bahl's Queen, and Shoojit Sircar's Piku to explain how cinema has taught audiences to look at women with empathy and respect, offering a progressive perspective. He revealed that in his tweet criticising Animal, his main issue with the film was not its existence, but the fact that someone could say something with such audacity and be embraced so readily by the public, especially by girls.
He said, 'Hindi cinema was helping men like me, coming from places like Indore, understand what gender equality truly means. Even in Anurag Kashyap's Dev D, women were shown as independent beings. And then, someone makes Animal, and we accept it. My issue isn't with the film being made—it's with the overwhelming acceptance it received. I remember the day I saw the film, I met a girl who had seen it twice. She said, 'Bobby Deol is so hot.' What disturbed me was how Sandeep Reddy Vanga rejected all forms of positive masculinity and instead glorified its most toxic form.'
Swanand also criticised a dialogue in the film where Ranbir Kapoor's character, Ranvijay, tells Rashmika Mandanna's Geetanjali that insecure men who couldn't become alpha males turned into poets. He said, 'I don't even mind if that's a perspective. But the film claims that those who couldn't be alpha males became poets, as if poetry is the last resort of insecure men. And yet, the same film uses poetry and lyrics to turn Ranvijay into an alpha male. In the Arjan Vailly song, where he's slaughtering hundreds, it's not the visuals but the poetry and music that create the thrill. You dismiss poetry in one dialogue but can't do away with it in your music. After this, Sandeep Reddy Vanga might get angry at me again, but that's okay.'
This is not the first time the writer and lyricist has criticised the film. Earlier, when Animal was released, he took to Twitter and stated that because of Animal, 'the glorious history of Indian cinema is being embarrassed.' Soon after his post, the team behind Animal hit back at his remarks.
The action drama film, co-written and directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga and produced by T-Series Films, Bhadrakali Pictures, and Cine1 Studios, stars Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Rashmika Mandanna, and Triptii Dimri. The film was criticised for its portrayal of toxic masculinity and violence. However, despite this, it emerged as a blockbuster, collecting ₹915 crore worldwide. A sequel, Animal Park, is currently in the pipeline.