I enjoyed Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s ‘Animal’ irrespective of its on-the-face misogyny

Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s ‘Animal’ is bold, brutally violent and misogynist, but what it is not? It is not boring, which is a huge thing for a film that is almost three and a half hours long. ‘Animal’ is Vanga’s world where he sees men in the same lens as ‘Arjun Reddy’ and where women have nothing to offer apart from sex and (one-sided) emotional support. Script wise, ‘Animal’ has nothing to offer beyond what we didn’t know already. But Vanga makes every scene exciting visually. He broke the rule of how cinema is supposed to be to seen, made or felt. When SS Rajamouli said Vanga is what Ram Gopal Varma was, I didn’t believe him until I saw the film. I now know what he meant. 

Vanga takes us into the past, justifies why that was necessary in the very next frame. We also see the protagonist breaking the third wall and talking to the audience. Vanga’s men are abusive, expect to be forgiven but the same rule doesn’t apply for women. Is that enough glimpse into why I called it a misogynist film? 

      ( Photo Credit – Instagram; IMDb )

Ranbir Kapoor as a Vanga’s protagonist shines through out the film. He gave his all to this part, and it shows. His character is OBSESSED with his father. The story can typically be described as a rich brat man child trying to prove how he is the next man of the house after his father (Anil Kapoor). He can burn down the world for his father (he does to an extent), but the father remains unavailable emotionally till the climax. And in the world of ‘Animal’, actions of Ranbir have no consequences. Apparently, he is so rich that all the murders he does, he is never, for once, held accountable for it. 

Interestingly, until interval, you aren’t even told what is Ranbir’s character’s name. 

While Ranbir lived the part to the T, Anil Kapoor was a wasted talent for sure. Another wasted talent is Bobby Deol. Bobby nailed his look but his part is as much as what we saw in the trailer. He is introduced as a menace to human kind but it was more of a naam bade aur darshan chote type situation in the film. He comes, kills, calms himself down by having sex and eventually dies (very brutally). Rashmika Mandanna didn’t have much to do either. Her delivery of dialogues, which she had few, could have been better. But special appearance of Tripti Dimri was all heart. She looked so pretty in every frame she was a part of.

A super special mention to music of ‘Animal’. From the background score to tracks, everything adds as an elevation of a scene. ‘Pehle Bhi Main’ is my absolute favourite but ‘Arjan Vailly’, its energy and its placement gives you goosebumps. Only song I thought could have been placed better is - ’Saari Duniya Jalaa Denge’. The scenes and the songs do not match enough. I'd also congratulate cinematographer as some of the shots in the film are brilliant from an artistic perspective. 

But 3 hours later, if you thought you’ve seen enough khoon kharaba, Vanga says ‘Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost’ with a scene that might make you want to close your eyes. He has given a perfect indication that the next part of the film, ‘Animal Park’, will be bloody, brutal to another level. Oh have to give you one spoiler, gear up for Ranbir’s double role in the next part. 

And in the end, Vanga seemed to have given a message to the reviewers and his haters with the post-credit frame of Ranbir Kapoor. If you know, you know.

If I’d give it stars, I think it does deserve 3.5.