Movie: Animal
Rating: 2.5/5
Banner: Bhadrakali Pictures and T Series
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Rashmika Mandann, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Tripti Dimri, Charu Shankar, Babloo Prithiveeraj, Shakti Kapoor, Prem Chopra, Siddhant Karnick, and others
Music: Harshwardhan Rameshwar and others
DOP: Amit Roy
Editor: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Producers: Bhushan Kumar and Pranay Reddy Vanga
Written and Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Release Date: Dec 01, 2023
After "Jawan," the one Bollywood film that generated a lot of hype in Telugu states was "Animal," since director Sandeep Reddy Vanga made the famous film "Arjun Reddy," earlier and Ranbir Kapoor aggressively promoted the film.
Has the film lived up to the expectations? Let us discover...
Story:
Ranvijay Singh (Ranbir Kapoor) has craved his father's love from childhood, but his father, businessman Balbir Singh, does not give his son time. Ranvijay returns to India from the United States with his wife Geetanjali (Rashmika) and children when his father is attacked by unknown persons.
Ranvijay not only discovers who attacked his father, but also vows vengeance on Abrar Haque (Bobby Deol). This whole episode brings out the 'beast' in him, and his complicated relationship with his father causes a slew of other issues.
Artistes’ Performances:
Ranbir Kapoor has delivered a fantastic performance. Surrendering to the director's vision, Ranbir Kapoor shows no fear in doing some ‘daring’ scenes. With his fascinating performance and charismatic presence, he holds the film from beginning to end.
Anil Kapoor is a fantastic fit for the role of a father.
The forceful evil, played by Bobby Deol, contrasts with the hero's madness. Bobby Deol's final fight sequence is a knockout.
Rashmika Mandanna plays a strong character and gives a convincing performance. She has also done several intimate scenes.
Tripti Dimri plays a bold character.
Technical Excellence:
The cinematography is excellent. The music and background score are a great plus. Sandeep Vanga understands how to employ music in narrative, and it works wonders.
Dialogues are extremely explicit. Many of the s**ually explicit discussions are embarrassing to see. Editing is a mixed bag. While the first half runs smoothly, the post-interval drags and the length becomes an issue.
Highlights:
Ranbir Kapoor’s performance
Music
The interval bang
Drawback:
Slow and lengthy second half
Dialogues about s**, and s**ual organs
Excessive violence and gore
Analysis
Sandeep Reddy Vanga is a director with a distinct style, as evidenced by his debut film, Arjun Reddy. The film became a cult classic, earning him high praise from both the general public and filmmakers. "Animal," like Arjun Reddy, revolves around the hero and his love, except this time his love is for his father rather than a lady.
Because of his love for his father and family members, the hero chooses the road of bloodshed. He becomes more violent as he grows older. On the surface, the film seems to be a standard vengeance story, but the narration of Sandeep Reddy Vanga sets it apart. He is not afraid to narrate his films in a bold and daring manner. Bold should be capitalised.
We must state that no other director will tell this narrative revenge story in this manner. It is obviously violent and gory, yet it has a certain swag that works in its favor.
There have been many films about father-son bonding and love, but "Animal" releases a beast side of a man as a result of his love for his father. The hero becomes increasingly relentless and animalistic as the story progresses.
The first half of the film, which runs for more than an hour and a half, is a wild ride. It's an exhilarating experience. However, after the intermission, the tempo slows and numerous sequences drag on.
As much as we like Sandeep Reddy's intriguing narrative, we can't help but express our displeasure with certain sequences and dialogues.
In one scenario, when a psychologist examining his current mental state asks him about his s**ual life, the hero asks the female psychologist how often she had s** in a week. In another scene, he warns people against shaving their pubic hair. In another scene, he tells his companions that a man should have the "power" to do it or lose women's respect. There’s also a scene about “underwear”.
Another scene features Bobby Deol having s** on the sofa with his bride on the day of their wedding, with all other guests present there. There are also conversations regarding 'p***s' and other topics. In other words, there is appropriate and inappropriate discussion about s**, s**ual behaviors, and s**ual organs.
Ranbir Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna have an emotional moment in which she confronts him about his infidelity, questioning whether he used condoms or whether the woman has nicer body parts than her, using explicit language. These scenes and lines are obviously intended for mature audiences, yet they are not in good taste and appear forced rather than organic.
The film is 3 hour 21 minutes long. Due to these forced scenes and dialogues about s**, the second half doesn’t work well
Overall, "Animal" is a mixed bag, with a fantastic first half, an exceptional performance by Ranbir Kapoor, and compelling soundtrack, but it bogs down owing to too much violence and bold talk about s**ual acts and gore. However, it will appeal to young people and others who enjoy a "cult" and bold style of narration.
Bottom line: Bolder Than Arjun Reddy