Ranbir Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna starrer ‘Animal’ sparked controversy when it premiered in December 2023. While some praised the film, others called it ‘toxic’ and ‘misogynistic’.
Four months after its release, Rashmika Mandanna has responded to these criticisms on Neha Dhupia's podcast. She defended the film, describing it as portraying a character who is ‘messed in the head.’ Rashmika Mandanna praised ‘Animal’ as ‘raw, real, and correct,’ noting that despite the controversies, people still enjoyed it.
‘He’s messed in the head and will go to any lengths for his father, that was engraved in my mind when I shot for the film. Nobody can do anything about it, it’s his story. If you want films to be raw, real and correct, Animal is that. After watching it, to say it’s misogynistic or whatever…if you enjoyed it, just leave it,’ Rashmika said.
In the episode, Rashmika Mandanna also tackled trolls who criticised her for allegedly unclear dialogue in the Karva Chauth scene. She detailed the extensive effort that went into filming the scene and shared that the entire set erupted in cheers after successfully capturing the 9-minute-long sequence.
‘The Karwa Chauth scene which was a nine-minute long scene and while doing the scene, people on the set loved it. They were clapping and felt it was done so well. But the trailer came out and I was trolled so much for that one particular dialogue from the same scene. So I thought, I did the 9-minute long scene and everyone on the set liked it, but people now are trolling me for the same. So am I living in a bubble? Like are people not gonna like this scene? Because you know what you’ve shot, but people don’t know. People just know that like those 10 seconds. So I don’t want to ever be in my life where I’m living in a bubble. I need to be on the ground. I need to talk to people. I need to know what’s really going on,’ the actor said.
Released on December 1, 2023, ‘Animal’ revolves around a man's toxic relationship with his father. The film portrays Vijay (played by Ranbir) as an anti-hero willing to go to extreme lengths, including gunning down 200 people with a machine gun, to protect his father. Despite his efforts, he struggles to gain approval from his emotionally unavailable father (played by Anil Kapoor). "Animal" was a box office success, grossing over Rs 900 crore worldwide.
Meanwhile, Rashmika Mandanna will soon appear in ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’ alongside Allu Arjun. She also has ‘Kubera’ with Dhanush, ‘Chhava’ with Vicky Kaushal, ‘Rainbow,’ and ‘The Girlfriend’ in her upcoming projects.
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