Bhumi Pednekar defends Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s ‘self-expression’ in Animal

Since the release of Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal with Ranbir Kapoor in the lead in December 1, there has been a lot of discussion around the film. In a new interview with The Lallantop, now actor Bhumi Pednekar has given her opinion on the A-rated film and said that every filmmaker has their right to ‘self-expression.’ (Also read: Sandeep Reddy Vanga reveals he showed Animal to his son, here’s how he reacted)
Bhumi Pednekar, whose latest release Bhakshak, released on Netflix today, told The Lallantop in Hindi, “I watched Animal… par mujhe hyper-masculine films mein maza hi nahi aata. Aur ye abhi se nahi, bohat pehle se hain.. Hollywood ki bhi action films hain na… mujhe na rom-com, agar mera genre pooche, mujhe woh films zyada pasand aati hai ( I don’t like watching hyper-masculine films. This is not something that has developed now, I have never enjoyed those kind of films even from before. Even in Hollywood, the kind of action films… I like watching rom-coms as a genre).”
The actor further defended the filmmaker’s position in making their film and added, “I genuinely believe that a film is a filmmaker’s self-expression, and that is very important. But as an audience, what you learn from that self-expression… that is the challenge.”
Animal emerged to be a blockbuster success at the box office, but many stars have criticised the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer for promoting misogyny and celebrating toxic masculinity. The film revolves around a man who returns from the US post an assassination attempt on his emotionally distant father. In a bid to win his validation, the man goes on a rampage to take revenge on those who tried to kill his father.
The film stars Ranbir alongside Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Rashmika Mandanna, Triptii Dimri, Suresh Oberoi, Shakti Kapoor, and Prem Chopra. The film released on Netflix on January 26.