Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s movie ‘Animal’ did well at the box office but faced criticism for being accused of promoting toxic masculinity and for being misogynistic in nature. Now, the director has responded to a critique from Kiran Rao, who is Aamir Khan’s ex-wife, in an interview with Dainik Bhaskar.
Yes, you read that right. In a recent interview with Dainik Bhaskar, the ‘Animal’ director indirectly talked about Kiran Rao’s interview, where she had expressed concerns about movies like ‘Baahubali’ and ‘Kabir Singh’ promoting stalking and glorifying toxic masculinity.
Well, it was in November 2023 when Kiran talked about how stalking is portrayed positively in many Bollywood movies as a way to impress women. She specifically mentioned the film ‘Kabir Singh’ and used SS Rajamouli’s ‘Baahubali’ as an example to illustrate her point. She had said:
“Another very big film, which I find fascinating, was Baahubali 1 (Baahubali: The Beginning). It started off with this exciting fight sequence, where this woman is leaping from tree to tree, and she is a warrior. But the hero delicately strips her of her agency and makes her just a fantastic romantic interest. I find it fascinating. It is (one of) the biggest films of Indian cinema.”
Sandeep Reddy Vanga Slammed Kiran Rao For Her Hypocrisy
Now, Sandeep Reddy Vanga, without taking the name of Kiran Rao, responded to her criticism and referred to the movie ‘Dil.’
Sandeep suggested that Kiran should consider Aamir’s movies and pointed out an instance in ‘Dil’ where the character, played by Aamir, initially threatens Madhuri Dixit’s character with r*pe but eventually ends up falling in love with her.
While reacting to Kiran Rao’s interview, Sandeep said: “Some people don’t understand what they are saying. One assistant director showed me the article from this superstar’s second ex-wife where she was saying that ‘Baahubali’ and ‘Kabir Singh’ promote misogyny, promote stalking. I think she doesn’t understand the difference between stalking and approaching.”
The director of ‘Kabir Singh’ then made a sarcastic comment about Aamir Khan’s 1990 film ‘Dil’ and highlighted similarities between the two films. He said: “Main kehna chahunga uss aurat ko ki jaake Aamir Khan ko pucho ‘Khambe jaisi khadi hai, Ladki hai ya fuljari hai’ woh kya tha? Then come back to me. That is, matlab, if you remember Dil, almost rape attempt tak leke jaake usko ehsaas jatata hai ki isne galat kiya. Aur usko pyar ho jata hai. Yeh sab kya hai?
(Which roughly translates to: I would like to say to that woman, ‘Go ask Aamir Khan, ‘Is she like a pillar, a girl, or a firecracker?’ What was that?” Then come back to me. If you remember Dil, he almost creates the situation towards an attempted rape, and it makes her realise that she was wrong. She ultimately falls in love. What is all this?) I don’t understand why they attack like that before checking the surroundings.”)
