Critics be damned, Sandeep Vanga doesn't care!
Javed Akhtar, renowned script writer and lyricist, during the Ajanta Ellora International Film Festival, voiced concerns about the kind of characters being applauded by society. Without directly naming the film Animal, his insinuation was clear. He said, “I believe it’s a testing time for the young filmmakers today as to what kind of characters they want to create that the society will applaud. For instance, if there is a film in which a man asks a woman to lick his shoe or if a man says it’s okay to slap a woman and if the film is a super duper hit then that’s very dangerous.”
Not the kind to take anything lying low, Sandeep Vanga defended his film, attempting to school Akhtar about the portrayal of lovers’ dynamics. “Writer of your calibre cannot understand the betrayal of a lover (Between Zoya & Ranvijay) then all your art form is big FALSE & if a woman (betrayed and fooled by a man in the name of love) would have said ‘lick my shoe’ then you guys would have celebrated it by calling it feminism. Let love be free from the politics of gender. Let’s just call them lovers. LOVER cheated and lied. LOVER said lick my shoe. Period.”(sic)
Anupama Chopra, renowned film critic, too faced Vanga’s unfiltered response. She was very critical of his earlier film Kabir Singh but tweeted “I miss Kabir Singh” after reviewing Animal as “misogynistic, morally bankrupt and stomach-churningly violent.”
But Sandeep accused her and other critics of avoiding face-to-face discussions, criticizing their selective, harsh critiques. During an interaction, he highlighted Anupama Chopra’s persistent attempts to secure an interview, stating that he had 6-7 messages. Before the release, she texted, “We should meet,” but after the release, “You see a different colour,” Vanga said talking about how some film critics later, after the film’s success, attempted to call him for a round table discussion. Vanga emphasized that these critics lack the guts to sit and talk face-to-face and, when confronted, beat around the bush and talk nonsense.
