Sandeep Reddy Vanga slams critics who made long videos bashing Animal; says, “I feel filmmakers are easy target”

Sandeep Reddy Vanga defended Animal, stating that despite harsh reviews, the film’s success was driven by strong audience praise and word of mouth.

By Bollywood Hungama News Network -

March 2, 2025 - 1:44 PM IST

Despite receiving heavy criticism for promoting violence and misogyny, director Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal (2023) became a major hit, ranking as the third highest-grossing Indian film of the year with a global earnings of approximately Rs 915 crores. The film also received negative reactions from the section of the media and audience, Vanga recently mentioned that these reactions didn’t affect Animal due to the immense affection it received from the general public. However, he also admitted that negative reviews can significantly influence a film's performance.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga slams critics who made long videos bashing Animal; says, “I feel filmmakers are easy target”

During a conversation with Komal Nahta on his show Game Changers, Vanga explained, “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. 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, “But if it was a film worth making only Rs 150-200 crores, it would have been declared a flop. With the kind of criticism I got, even if the movie made Rs 200 crores, it would have been dubbed as a flop because the sound was so big. Though these critics are a small percentage, they speak in front of the mic and hence, become so big,”

The filmmaker continued, “There were people who made 2-hour videos criticising 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.”

During the conversation, Sandeep Reddy Vanga also recalled an incident where an IAS officer publicly criticized Animal. “An IAS officer, in an interview, said that films like Animal shouldn’t be made. He made it sound like I had committed a crime by making that movie. He mentioned, ‘On one hand, we are making movies like 12th Fail and on the other, films like Animal are making the society regressive.’ If somebody attacks you unnecessarily, you will get angry. He is an IAS officer who must have studied hard and reached where he is. However, if you go to Delhi, get enrolled in an institute and give 2-3 years of your life, you can crack IAS. But I can give you in writing that there’s no course or teacher that can make you a filmmaker or writer,” he added.

Animal starred Ranbir Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, and Triptii Dimri.

Also Read : Sandeep Reddy Vanga suggests Shahid Kapoor shouldn’t do remakes; says, “He’s such an original actor”