Ranbir Kapoor discussed the criticism his blockbuster film Animal received, stating that it ultimately helped elevate his career to new heights.
With director Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal, Ranbir Kapoor felt he transitioned from a "boy to a man." But was there a price for this transformation? For the first time in detail, Kapoor has opened up about the mixed reception of the revenge epic, which, despite harsh criticism, became the biggest hit of his career.
Animal sparked a heated debate on social media, with notable figures like Javed Akhtar and Swanand Kirkire criticizing the film for its perceived misogyny and violence.
The gender politics of the movie, similar to Vanga's previous hit Kabir Singh, remained a hot topic for months following its December release. In a new interview with entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath, Ranbir Kapoor discussed the fallout from Animal's release, revealing that industry insiders expressed their disappointment in him for leading the film. When the host suggested that movies should not be seen as sources of societal morality, but rather as entertainment, Kapoor shared his perspective. Ranbir said, “That was the intention, but it was misconstrued.”
“Social media played havoc. They need something to talk about, so they really went to town claiming it was a misogynistic film. What happens is that the hard work that you put in… I know the director had made Kabir Singh, which also faced the same thing, the hard work gets diminished. Because it gets this tag, which isn’t true, the perception stayed with this film. So, the general public will speak very fondly about the film, but there are many people I meet, who tell me, ‘You shouldn’t have done this film, we are so disappointed in you’. And a lot of people from the film industry (said the same thing). I quietly apologize and say, ‘Sorry I won’t do it next time.’ I don’t really agree with them, but I am in that phase of my life I don’t argue with anyone. If you don’t like my work, I will say I am sorry I will try harder next time,” he said.
Also he added that “I had always been following a career path where I was doing good roles, trying to give good social messages, play the ‘good boy’ basically, the coming-of-age romantic image that I had. So, I found this very bold, adult-rated. I was scared that maybe the audience will not accept me. When the film released, even though it did amazing numbers and we got a lot of love, there is a big audience which found the film misogynist and wrong, in some way.”
Following the questions he was asked if he would do the film all over again, Ranbir said he would. “I was stagnating and hitting a saturation point in my career. I was called the ‘next superstar’ for a very long time–and I am not saying I am that today, because unless you have those continuous blockbuster films, you can’t be called a superstar–but Animal was the correct film at the right time, to take another step up. Because I had been flatlining in the same status, so that was very important for me, for my confidence, to shift from a boy to a man in some ways.”
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