'Filmmakers are easy targets'—Sandeep Reddy on widespread criticism for 'Animal'
What's the story
Despite drawing massive flak for purportedly glorifying violence and misogyny, director Sandeep Reddy Vanga's film Animal (2023) turned out to be a blockbuster.
The movie landed the third position in India's highest-grossing films of 2023 with worldwide collections of nearly ₹915cr.
In a recent interview with Komal Nahta on his show Game Changers, Vanga spoke about the criticism and defended his film's success.
Criticism response
Vanga expressed frustration over extensive criticism of 'Animal'
Vanga said, "There were people who made 2-hour videos criticizing Animal. There are videos where 4-10 people sat together and talked about Animal, bashing the film."
"A person was driving his car and giving a review of the film and the video was 1 hour 30 minutes."
"There are so many social issues and nobody talks about them. Everyone wants to discuss only about movies. I feel filmmakers are easy targets."
Impact discussion
Vanga acknowledged the impact of negative reviews on films
Vanga admitted that bad reviews can have a huge impact on a film's performance.
He said, "If a film is mediocre and receives harsh reviews, it can definitely be impacted. I truly believe reviews can hurt movies."
"But Animal moved forward so rapidly that the reviews couldn't have an effect. If a film has 50 great aspects but only 20 are recognized, negative reviews can have a significant impact."
Audience power
Vanga credited audience's response for 'Animal's success
Vanga credited the success of Animal to the audience's response.
He said, "However, Animal wasn't affected because audiences came out calling it 'fabulous.' The word of mouth was incredibly strong and spread like wildfire."
He added that if Animal had only earned ₹150-200cr, it would have been declared a flop considering the amount of criticism it received.
The film starred Ranbir Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna.