Javed Akhtar has clarified his earlier blunt remarks about the blockbuster success of Sandeep Reddy Vanga's 2023 family crime drama Animal, starring Ranbir Kapoor in the lead role. In an interview with Mojo Story, he explained that his comments were directed at the audience rather than the film itself.
“I did not opine on Animal, I opined on the audience. Honestly! I believe if 10-12-15 people have made a film with wrong values… if 10-12 people produce a song which is vulgar, crude, obscene… that's not the problem. If 15 out of 140 crore people are perverts or have wrong values, it's okay, doesn't matter. When that thing goes out in the market and becomes a superhit, that’s the problem,” Javed Akhtar explained.
When the veteran lyricist and screenwriter was asked why he thought Animal succeeded, he joked, “I think the basic title tells you why. The title is self-explanatory.” Earlier this year, Javed had mentioned at an event that although he hadn't seen Animal, he had heard about a controversial scene in which the male protagonist (Ranbir Kapoor) asks his love interest (Triptii Dimri) to lick his shoe to prove her love and loyalty. Javed remarked that the fact that Animal earned over ₹500 crore at the domestic box office only highlights how dangerous the society consuming such content has become.
Sandeep Reddy Vanga, the director of Animal, took offense to Javed Akhtar's comments and suggested that the lyricist should watch the film first to understand its context. Sandeep also questioned Javed's hypocrisy, pointing out that his son, Farhan Akhtar, is a co-producer of the Prime Video India crime thriller Mirzapur, which is notorious for its use of obscene language.
In his response, Javed pointed out that Sandeep could only find a show produced—rather than directed or written—by his son's production house, Excel Entertainment, to call out his supposed hypocrisy. Javed further added that the fact that Sandeep couldn't find any instance of sexism or obscenity in his own extensive filmography or discography was, in fact, quite flattering.
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