Ranbir Kapoor says Animal hit close to home because of his distant father-son experience

Ranbir Kapoor says Animal feel close to home because of his distant father-son experience

• Ranbir Kapoor says Animal's father-son theme resonated deeply with him
• He resonated with Sandeep Reddy Vanga's vision and emotional storytelling.
• Animal crossed Rs 900 crore worldwide, sparking debate on its intense themes

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Actor Ranbir Kapoor has opened up about the deep personal connection he felt with the story of Animal, the controversial and hard-hitting film directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga. Speaking at an event ahead of the movie’s release in Japan on February 13, Ranbir explained that beyond the violence and intensity, the emotional core of the film — a strained father-son relationship — resonated strongly with him.

Animal — which stars Ranbir as Rannvijay Singh, a man driven by trauma, revenge and conflicting emotions — has been both lauded and critiqued for its portrayal of toxic masculinity and extreme violence. But according to Ranbir, the emotional authenticity of the story drew him to the project.

He said that when director Sandeep Reddy Vanga narrated the story, he connected with what the filmmaker was trying to convey, particularly the generational distance that many men experience with their fathers.

During the interaction, Ranbir said, “I really loved his previous work. He made one film, in Telugu and then in Hindi. I met him for the first time and it is rare time where you connect with somebody. I connected with him as a person. I connected with what he was trying to say through the story.”

“This may seem like a very intense, action-oriented, bloodied film, but I think the core emotion, the father-son emotion, was something that a lot of men from my generation… we grew up with that distance from our father. So I think I really connected with that deep emotion. It was one of my most treasured and memorable collaborations that I had with a director in my career.”

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In Animal, Anil Kapoor plays Ranbir’s father, a role that further anchors the film’s central theme around familial bonds tested by betrayal, expectation and violence. Rashmika Mandanna and Triptii Dimri also feature in key roles, rounding out a cast that helped the film become one of the biggest box office successes of its time. The movie crossed the Rs 900 crore mark worldwide and sparked conversation for its raw storytelling and complex emotional beats.