Xtreme Vogue London Desk: Judith Benjamin
Star Cast: Ranbir Kapoor , Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Rashmika Mandanna, Tripti Dimri, Charu Shankar, Babloo Prithiveeraj, Saurabh Sachdeva, Prem Chopra
Director: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
What’s Good: Ranbir Kapoor putting everything in, but for what? The interval block could be a separate short film, and I would surely hoot for that one
What’s Bad: Everything you thought was bad in Arjun Reddy/Kabir Singh it’s worse here
Loo Break: There should be a competition among friends of who can sit through this almost three-and-a-half-hour film without taking a loo break, and that would have an interesting outcome than this film
Watch or Not?: Only and only if you can leave the cinema hall after the first half
Language: Hindi
Available On: Theatrical release
Runtime: 3 hours 21 minutes
User Rating:
Ranvijay Singh (Ranbir Kapoor) is the son of multi-millionaire businessman Balbir Singh (Anil Kapoor). He clearly doesn’t care anything more than how well his company, Swastik Oil, is doing every financial year. The love not received from his father stays in his heart and keeps boiling till the point that he transforms into an animal.
The protection he has for his papa turns into such an obsession that he knows which hand he uses to hold his private part while urinating. If you think that’s a lot, oh wait, he’ll ask you not to shave your pubic hair because it’s a natural process. While saving his father, he gets wounded to get a heart transplant, and he then sleeps around with the fiance of the dead guy who donated his heart, only to conclude this abysmal second half, inspired heavily by TikTok videos.
Animal Movie Review: Script Analysis
Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s writing, directing, and editing of his own story is what has hampered his vision to think, “I think this would only add to the runtime without making any impact whatsoever.” This is Vanga making a film to satisfy his ego while answering the Kabir Singh trolls in the most egregious way possible. Before all of you started bashing me, I had rated Kabir Singh a 4/5 because that film had its heart in the right place.
I’m all in for a toxic character because it’s a trait any human can have, but when you show it with a weaker motive, you lose the whole point, weakening the connection viewers could have with the character. Yes, it’s not necessary to consistently connect with your lead, but at least join us with the world around him. How can one tolerate an alpha male in a beta world? The whole ‘papa papa’ obsession suddenly gets sidelined only to show how Ranvijay can consummate with the fiance of the dead guy who donated him the heart, leading to a plot twist you can see coming from a mile away.
I’m so disappointed because the film had some amazing scenes that could’ve had Jawan’s ‘Vikram Rathore’ impact if they were bound by a proper story. You can’t just keep your film at 3 hours 21 minutes only because you’ve shot that much of it; that’s why Edwin S. Porter laid the editing foundation of movie storytelling back in 1903. You need to edit out scenes that aren’t required; we don’t want to see the lead talking about how he wears specially handcrafted underwear that has 1000 threads/sqft. The film’s length and its lame second half will restrict it from being anything but an entertaining experience.
I didn’t get the decision to choose Amit Roy as the cinematographer; his previous work involves Dhokha – Round D Corner, Sarkar; yes, the range is crazy, but surprisingly, he has done well with the action sequences where we can witness most of his involvement. The much-talked-about 18-minute interval block is MIND BLOWING, which remains to be the signature scene and also something that’s missing from the second half.
Star Performance
I can’t believe Ranbir Kapoor has signed this after reading the complete script; the Tamasha fan in me still has the opinion that he was unaware of the horrendous second half before signing the film. He must’ve been on board by the time interval block was being narrated to him, and looking back at Kabir Singh’s box office success; he might’ve agreed to do this. This Ranbir Kapoor performance deserved a better film, and it’s an attempt worse than Bombay Velvet because, over there, we were clear about Anurag Kashyap’s vision. Here, everything just happens because Kabir Singh & Arjun Reddy’s characters were bashed, so Sandeep decided to show the critics what a real toxic person would happen to be like.
Anil Kapoor doesn’t do anything apart from being a busy ‘papa’ to a child who grows up to be a criminal because of him. That’s his only trait, and he plays around it till, just like Rashmika Mandanna’s inaudible trailer dialogue, you’ll really wish Anil’s Balbir would’ve died that day.
Rashmika Mandanna’s Geetanjali is everything a feminist wanted Kiara Advani’s Priti to be, but none of them would’ve thought she would fall yet again for a toxic lover. He hurts her by stretching & shooting her bra strap at her, leading to rashes on her back; he says things like, “4 din pad change karne ke liye kitna naatak karti hai… Main din mein 50 baar pad change kar raha.” He sleeps with another woman only to confess the same to his wife, and she still chooses him because he loves him, and love overpowers hate. So what if the hatred is just a little bit of domestic violence and adultery? She should accept it because he’s a man.
The whole Bobby Deol brouhaha for this? He’s only as much in the film as much as he’s in the trailer, and this is Race 3 happening with him all over again. You won’t help but laugh out loud at a ‘Martha’ moment he shares with Ranbir’s character. Also, lol at the theories that were floating around Bobby’s character and the entire film in general. If you think about it, those theories would’ve made a better film than Mr. Vanga.
Direction, Music
This is Sandeep Reddy Vanga going into the egomaniacal mode to make a movie that would take toxic masculinity to the other extreme end of Kabir Singh/Arjun Reddy. All this while, he wasn’t making a film. He was making a statement that he wants the world to read and decide if they wish to side with him.
I rated Animal album a 4/5 in its music review, saying that the songs would get better after knowing about the situations they’re placed in, and I couldn’t have been more wrong. While every song had the potential to hit all the right chords, none of them could land apart from Arjan Vailly, and that’s because it’s a part of the better-directed 18-minute interval block scene. Harshavardhan Rameshwar is the second person after Ranbir Kapoor who infuses all of his energy into his work, and that’s why the background score elevates many scenes to another high.
The Last Word
All said and done; this Sandeep Reddy Vanga film is a celebration of manhood in a way that Sanjay Dutt would come out from his ‘Mardaangi’ ad and say to the director: “Yeh MANLY hai yaar!”
