Director Karan Johar has labelled Animal as the “best film of the year.” The Sandeep Reddy Vanga directorial has been the most controversial film of 2023 and was criticised for its “glorification” of misogyny, toxic masculinity and violence. Nonetheless, the Ranbir Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Anil Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna starrer, went on to make over Rs 540 crore in India.
Appearing on Galatta Plus’ pan-India roundtable, Karan said that he might get “dirty looks” for saying it but for him Animal was the “best film of the year.” “I loved it for its front-footed, absolutely conviction-based narrative, breaking grammar, breaking myths and breaking everything that you conform to in mainstream cinema.”
The director/ producer also praised Sandeep, who was also part of the roundtable, for his unconventional direction style. “Suddenly, you have an interval block and the hero is being bashed up and people are singing a song. I am like, ‘Where have you seen a sequence like that? It’s genius’. Then, in the end, two men are going at each other and they play that song and I have tears in my eyes when there is only blood. I felt something is wrong with me, something is wrong with him (Vanga) but something put together is very right about this film.”
“It’s going to bring in a tone and syntax which doesn’t exist. What I love about Sandeep, he has a popular song, he plays it and he stops it whenever he wants to, he taxes it when he wants to, he cuts the scene when he wants to, it’s like he is telling his story with such conviction. That’s the conviction I believe I also want to have and I had when I was making Rocky Aur Rani,” he added.
Dismissing the debate around the film’s depiction of misogyny, Karan said, “You can debate about it, you can debate the politics, the scenes, but I am aroused and engaged by the cinema of this film. You get into the nitty-gritty of every film, and you can find flaws and red flags, but for me, the biggest green flag is the talent of this man who has conceptualised this film. I have seen so many good films this year, but the only film which taught me something was this film.”
Karan also delivered a hit this year with Rocky Aur Rani Kii Pre Kahaani, starring Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Shabana Azmi, Dharmendra and Jay Bachchan among others.
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