Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s film “Animal,” despite facing heavy criticism for its violent content and perceived toxicity and misogyny, emerged as one of the standout successes of 2023. Featuring Ranbir Kapoor, the film raked in over Rs 662.33 crore domestically and Rs 255.49 crore internationally, amassing a global total of Rs 917.82 crore. Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma commended the film and defended Vanga against the backlash, emphasising the director’s achievement in creating a blockbuster without relying on a massive budget or extensive special effects.
“Different kinds of audiences will like different kinds of films. I can’t believe that the same kind of audience will like both ‘Gadar 2’ and ‘Animal.’ Having said that, one can like a certain dish and others can like something else. It is not, ‘I only eat this kind of food,’” Varma told Galatta Plus.
Varma also highlighted the pressure contemporary stars face to participate in high-budget projects with significant production costs. “They have to. They have a competition amongst them, and every big star wants to expand his fanbase and market so that he can make bigger and bigger films. That’s technically what big stars think, and that kind of thing can only come from very heavy VFX and huge production and design costs,” he explained.
Ram Gopal Varma praised Sandeep Reddy Vanga for defying the conventional approach, noting that “Animal” was made on a relatively modest budget. “Sandeep Reddy Vanga proved them wrong because ‘Animal’ was the least expensive film; however, if you look at Ranbir Kapoor in ‘Brahmastra’ or ‘Shamshera,’ ‘Animal’ was the cheapest film in terms of production. He is one of the biggest names, and the film did better than the so-called big production value films. So there are no hard and fast rules,” he emphasized.
When asked if “Animal’s” success would encourage other filmmakers to follow a similar path, Varma was skeptical. “But because ‘Animal’ happened, will other films made faster and with lesser expenses still earn as much money? That decision… I mean, so many films have been made with big production value, and ‘Animal’ comes and surprises us. For filmmakers to make a film like ‘Animal’ and think back, it is going to take some time. Aamir Khan cracked this by doing smaller films and big films more than 25 years back. I don’t see a single person doing that now,” he expressed.
Earlier, Ram Gopal Varma used his X (formerly Twitter) handle to share five takeaways for the people of India from “Animal.” He began by tweeting, “1. Indians are not the same Indians that the earlier Indians used to be. 2. If films are believed to be an art form and reflect culture, ‘Animal’ has redefined culture and destroyed what was earlier called art.”
Varma also commented on the film’s box office success, which crossed Rs 600 crore worldwide in just eight days. He asserted that the film’s success is evidence that “animals are hidden in all of us,” reflecting widespread admiration for Sandeep Reddy Vanga, “a not-to-be-loved and respected director.”
RGV further wrote, “3. Every Indian is now exposed to each other Indian in terms of what kind of ANIMALS are hidden in all of us. 4. The mega box office proves that all Indians now love and respect a not-to-be-loved and respected director (Sandeep Reddy Vanga). 5. All Indians now realize that all Indians have grown up (folded hands emojis).”
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