Animal Controversy: Sandeep Reddy Vanga Fires Back at Javed Akhtar, Says ‘Feel Like Puking After Watching Farhan Akhtar’s Mirzapur’
Filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga‘s latest venture Animal, featuring actor Ranbir Kapoor, has been making waves at the box office, but not without stirring controversy. The film has faced criticism for its portrayal of themes such as misogyny and glorification of violence, prompting a heated debate within the industry. Lyricist Javed Akhtar, a vocal critic of certain cinematic trends, expressed his concerns about the success of films that seemingly endorse problematic behaviour. Without directly naming the movie, he remarked, “If there’s 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 the film is a super hit, that’s dangerous.”
Sandeep Reddy Vanga Fires Back
In response to Javed Akhtar’s remark, Sandeep Reddy Vanga expressed similar concerns and took a dig at Javed’s son Farhan Akhtar and his popular web series Mirzapur. During a chat with Siddharth Kannan, Vanga said, “Why didn’t he tell the same thing to Farhan Akhtar when he was producing Mirzapur? Duniya bhar ke gaali Mirzapur ek show mai hai (Mirzapur has an abundance of explicit language), and I haven’t watched the whole show. When the show was translated into Telugu, if you watch that, then you will feel like puking. Why is he not checking his son’s work?”
The ongoing debate between Sandeep Reddy Vanga and Javed Akhtar highlights the complexities surrounding artistic expression, societal responsibility, and the blurred lines between entertainment and potential harm.
Sandeep Reddy Vanga also took a dig at Aamir Khan’s Dil
Sandeep Reddy Vanga in an another interview recalled a statement made by Kiran Rao alleging that films like Baahubali 2 and Kabir Singh promote misogyny and endorse stalking. The director told Dainik Bhaskar, “Main kehna chahta uss aurat ko ki jaake Aamir Khan ko pucho ki khambe jaisi khadi hai yeh ladki phuljhadi hai, woh kya tha? Then come back to me. If you remember Dil, almost rape attempt tak leke jake usko ehsaas jatata hai ki isne galat kiya aur usko pyaar ho jata hai. Yeh sab kya hai?” (I would like to convey to that lady: Go and inquire from Aamir Khan about the song Khambe jaisi khadi hai; what exactly was its context? Then return to me. If you recall Dil, there’s an almost attempted rape scene where the woman is made to feel culpable, and yet they end up falling in love. What does all of that signify?)
Kiran, in her response had said, “I have never commented on Mr Sandeep’s films because I have never seen them. I have often spoken on misogyny and the representation of women on screen. I have talked about it on various platforms at various times. But I have never taken the name of any film because it is not about the specific film. Why Mr Vanga has assumed that I was talking about his film you’ll have to ask him. I have never seen his film.”