Animal Movie Review: Ranbir Kapoor, who stars in Animal and released its trailer recently, described it as an adult-rated Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham film.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga, director of this new movie which Ranbir Kapoor described, was not modest in his statements about it.

Kabir Singand Arjun Rddy (both versions in Hindi and Telugu, respectively, made in Vanga) are minimally toxic films; animalism should never be underestimated, and the violence seen here is only an indication of what will unfold across 3 hours and 21 minutes of screen time.

What Is The Plot In Animal?

Ranbir Kapoor plays Ranvijay, a.k .a. Vijay or Animal. He shares an uneasy relationship with Balbir Singh – not due to ego conflicts but because Vijay loves his father with an intense devotion that many might find unusual. 

Yet, Balbir is too busy giving Vijay quality time and is an anxious son who seeks his approval in everything he does. Balbir, as an experienced businessman, has tried disciplining Vijay without success.

Vijay returns home after eight years spent living in America to discover an attempt on his life made to kill off his father, leading Vijay into a killing spree until he discovers who the real culprit is. Vijay believes his father is paramount to him, so he will stop at nothing to protect him.

The Animal is remarkable because Vanga employs her style in handling its central plot. I can only describe my feelings after viewing Vanga’s long gorefest as “unique.”

How Much Violence Is Enough?

Sandeep Reddy Vanga, an Indian writer-editor-director duo, boasted in an exclusive interview that they would show India the art of action filmmaking.

And he wasn’t kidding: this movie’s action scenes are new to Bollywood: they are stylishly choreographed with great music accompaniment – featuring hundreds of masked men charging Ranbir. 

In contrast, our man-child protagonist charges at them with an Indian-made bazooka as though giving away free merchandise in stores; Vijay thinks he can finally avenge his father’s attack, but Vanga still has more to show than ever.

As the second half of Animal progresses, everything intensifies rapidly; Ranbir Kapoor finds himself overwhelmed by gore, violence, bloodshed, toxicity and violence on display.

Vanga was widely criticized for the toxic love shown on screen in previous appearances such as Kabir Sing and Arjun Reddy, but has seemingly taken note of these comments and is now more daring in Animal. Their relationship seems all-consuming right from the outset of Animal.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga Hates Women

Rashmika’s first meeting with Ranbir was awkward; upon meeting, he made an unflattering comment about her body that immediately caused her to postpone her wedding and leave her family.

Rashmika soon ended up calling off her marriage and leaving them behind to pursue him instead. In Vanga’s universe, women are attracted to men who discuss women’s anatomy without speaking directly about it (recall Kabir singh?).

He tried making Mandanna speak out in Animal, yet everything was forgiven due to love; all toxicity, bloodshed, and beast mode were accepted because the man was great in bed.

Tripti Dimri played an integral role, but by the time you see her on screen, she’s already lost both stories and man’s attention has long passed.

Vanga discusses this area frequently, and I found myself curious about his obsession.

Discussion includes groin pain relief products and underwear designed to strengthen penis muscles, among other topics.

Ranbir’s Performance in Animal 

Ranbir Kapoor’s performance as a troubled boy is particularly stirring. His ability to inhabit this role effortlessly was astounding, earning him numerous nominations during award season. Unfortunately, however, its flaws make it hard to praise an artist for accepting such roles.

Anil Kapoor gives an outstanding and restrained performance as the father who wishes he had more time for his son. At the same time, both actors excel at portraying their respective roles well.

Rashmika, Charu, Saloni and Tripti Dimri shine as women in this film even though their scripts may be subpar; director Paul Verhoeven appears more focused on emphasising male alpha traits than offering compelling characters for them to play.

Bobby Deol plays an antagonistic yet charismatic character similar to Vijay. Deol is also mute and captures Vanga’s vision well; unfortunately, he only appears briefly.

This film is technically superb; Amit Roy shot it beautifully. Additionally, Harshwardhan & Rameshwar provided an outstanding background score, while several composers provided additional music throughout its entirety.

Ranbir’s scenes where he travels back to his Pind (village) to ask his brothers for assistance are well written and performed, showing great compassion towards their elder sibling and asking them for protection for his family.

Animal has many flaws despite its impressive performances, music, and technical mastery. At times, I found myself comparing what was onscreen to Kabir Singh, a film I had major issues with;

By comparison, Kabir Singh seems like child’s play when compared with Animal. Or as Ranbir Kapoor put it: Animal is Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham taken with an acid boost.

What Does Not Work in Animal Movie

At 3 hours and 22 minutes long, Animal is one of the longest films I’ve seen recently. With its high-pitched dialogues that may cause discomfort to viewers’ ears and parts that seem unnecessary – both visually and verbally – there are times you would wish there had been less dramatisation of these parts.

Not pleasant is hearing multiple references to male pubic hair as an indicator of manhood, such as Ranbir discussing it with a psychotherapist after his accident.

Sandeep, co-written by Pranay Vanga and Saurabh Gupta, creates an engaging screenplay packed with captivating elements that create cinematically striking visuals in each frame; unfortunately, logic gets set aside, and the story drags significantly in its second half.

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