I could derive a few meaningful lessons from Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s ‘Animal’. Yes, amidst all the criticism despite blockbuster Box Office numbers, I decided to watch the movie, exempt from certain prejudices and expectations.
First things first. ‘Animal’, ‘Kabir Singh’ and ‘Arjun Reddy’ are not the first films in Indian Cinema to depict and propel misogyny, male chauvinism and submissive women (though I don’t think women are shown as meek creatures in ‘Animal’, in fact quite the opposite but I will come back to that piece in a while). In the last 40-50 years, in both Indian and World Cinema, such characters have been depicted, celebrated and have attained a cult status over the years. So why all the fuss now? I think we as an audience and critic, have become closed and saturated, and very conveniently come out of it when it pleases us. Which is quite frankly and evidently, double standards and is not fair.
I have watched ‘Animal’ very closely – as a commercial audience and as a critic who has an inseparable connection with parallel cinema. ‘Animal’ is definitely not the best in it’s genre, in fact it is quite far from it. It has numerous flaws – excessive, unwanted violence and gore, the typical ‘you kill me- I kill you’ formula and the obsessively dangerous, vulnerable and ignited characters (including the protagonist) who only know to shed, chew and drink blood. But, I also see some sheen in the soul of those characters (does draw the similarity from ‘Kabir Singh’).
The strongest alibi of ‘Animal’ is the relationship between father and son. And it is also the weakest. Yet, I saw a very strong message from the director and that is where I believe my perspective stands out. The fragile and a combustible relationship is so ferociously depicted that it is almost perfect and then almost immediately imperfect. At times, you feel sorry for the son who pleads, begs and kills to earn his father’s unconditional love and trust. But for me, it does raise the most sensitive subject in an implicit and loud lanaguage – Poor Parenting. For me, that’s the greatest lesson from ‘Animal’. Outside, it is all painted in red and flashes the quintessential Bollywood masala film with ‘Guns and Gore’. But inside, I found little flavours of good cinema. Just a little bit.
‘Animal’ draws references from many classics (Indian and World Cinema), especially to showcase violence. Scarface, Reservoir Dogs, Oldboy, Kill Bill, Gangs of Wasseypur.. to name a few. But these films were ahead of their times in terms of treatment and the plot, and were more aesthetically shot with better scripts and screenplay that justified their run time. The problem with ‘Animal’ is that it’s violence (mostly, unwantedly explicit and confused) almost overshadows the brilliant and effortless performances of Ranbir Kapoor and Bobby Deol (perhaps the most dangerous cameo ever in recent past).
Now. touching upon the topic of Women integrity. I thought the women were very strongly built characters in ‘Animal’. Yes, they do look very weak in front of their monster husbands but only a woman of grit and strong character can manage to sleep in the same bed with such men. And the scene where the protagonist’s wife retaliates when her parents imply that she should leave him for good, leaves a lasting impression. That kind of defines how the women in ‘Animal’ are made of – despite the flaws in her man, she also acknowledges the fact that he was there for her when no one else was. A woman doesn’t need to adopt violence to show that she is strong and competent, she holds her own against the mighty men, flaunting integrity and self respect. I was surprised to see Twitter over flowing with emotions and hatred – I am sure we all have seen similar sequences in numerous classics over the years, so not sure what triggered the sudden outpouring for Women empowerment and the backlash the film received. Let me also remind all the critics and other film experts – though I strongly believe that Cinema is a powerful medium of art and propagation, it has always been a potboiler of exaggeration and over dramatism – this is so much applicable for commercial cinema. Just that some filmmakers are well nuanced and have a more subtle way of describing messages, some are not. But let’s not get overtly carried away with such swaying sentiments. If Cinema could change everything, we would be living in a much better place today. Cinema is an opinion, not a verdict delivered by law.
‘Animal’ is an entertaining film and let’s leave it there. It is not for everyone and it is not a special film either. But it is certainly watchable in parts for those soulful moments and a powerhouse called ‘Ranbir Kapoor’.
@Lifeoholic 