Actor and filmmaker Farhan Akhtar recently opened up about one of the most controversial films of 2023, ‘Animal’, directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga. Farhan said that the film didn’t resonate with him and called Ranbir’s character ‘problematic’.
In an interview with Faye D’Souza, Farhan said, “The film didn’t do much for me. Is it something that I would recommend somebody to watch, I guess not.” When asked if he had the opportunity to produce ‘Animal’, he answered, “No, I won’t. it doesn’t resonate with me. For me, I feel that the character is problematic.”
‘Animal’ ignited a debate on social media, with many credible voices, including Javed Akhtar and Swanand Kirkire, slamming the movie for its perceived misogyny and violence. The gender politics of the film, much like Vanga’s previous hit ‘Kabir Singh’, remained a talking point for months after its release in December, last year.
Farhan had earlier reacted to the emergence of ‘alpha male’ characters in films like ‘Animal’. In an interaction with YouTuber Raj Shamani, he was asked about his take on Ranbir Kapoor’s character Ranvijay. He had said, “I don’t believe that some things shouldn’t be shown. We are in a field where, if someone tells me, ‘You can’t make a film like this’, then I’ll be like, ‘Who are you to tell me what I should and should not make?’ I am permitted by the laws of this country and I have the freedom of artistic expression to say whatever I want.”
“What the audience wants to listen to, that they’ll decide. I’d never ever tell any filmmaker or writer or producer or anyone, ‘Yaar don’t make this’ or ‘This kind of movie can’t be made’,” he added.