PremiumAs a woman, I will never watch Ranbir Kapoor's Animal - count me out of celebrating misogyny and hypermasculinity
I thought Animal wouldn’t make an impact at the box office. Because what were Sandeep Reddy Vanga and Ranbir Kapoor thinking? Unfortunately, I was wrong. The world seems to love this trigger-fest
Last Updated: 05.34 PM, Dec 05, 2023
“What did I just watch?” That was the first thought I had after watching the trailer for Animal. And that was not an appreciative, ‘mind-blown’ expression. I simply couldn’t fathom why someone would make such a movie and why millions of others would watch it. Honestly, I thought Animal would be one of those films that wouldn’t make much of an impact at the box office. Because what were Sandeep Reddy Vanga and Ranbir Kapoor thinking? Unfortunately, I was wrong; unfortunate because, in an ideal world, the insane success of the film should juxtapose the many disturbing reviews and other news that I have read about the film.
I haven’t watched the film and I never intend to, for reasons that seem to resonate with several women with whom I have interacted: it’s triggering! Why, in a world that is already rife with violence, are we applauding a fabricated film that purports to be a plea for paternal affection but is filled with misogyny and hypermasculinity, senseless blood and gore, and copious amounts of violence?
And here I was, thinking Animal would be a flop (face palm)
Animal is a film that is being celebrated widely. So much so that many didn’t even realise that Meghna Gulzar’s film Sam Bahaddur with Vicky Kaushal was released on the same day. Now, I am not a Ranbir fan and definitely not one of Vanga. But I do think that Ranbir is a good actor. He’s proven this in films like Barfi, Rockstar and Wake Up Sid. I liked him in all those films. He didn’t have to live in his famous parents’ shadow; the man showed promise. But alas, he also showed some poor judgement in film selection (read: Besharam, Shamshera, and Jagga Jasoos). And I had written Animal off as another poor selection by Ranbir as soon as the first glimpses of the film were out. How wrong I was!
Love it or hate it, Animal is all the buzz right now. Heck, that’s the reason I’m writing this piece. According to the latest figures, the film is in the Rs 400 crore club. Everyone’s talking about it—from laymen to celebrities. Yet, this is a film that I simply cannot bring myself to watch. And I don’t just mean in theatres. I will skip it, even when it eventually releases on OTT. You know how sometimes you watch something just because it's so bad? Yeah, that’s not going to happen with Animal!
3 big reasons why I will never watch Animal
Why, you ask? As a woman who’s watched the Animal trailer once and chosen to see little else about the film (but I’ve read a couple of articles and reviews), I list 3 big reasons why I will never watch Animal:
1) Misogyny, hypermasculinity, machismo and, oh, more misogyny! If Arjun Reddy was bad, Animal is apparently its dad (spoken in true Dhanush style). And I want no part of that. I watched Arjun Reddy (which is why Kabir Singh was duly skipped) and it was repulsive enough. What with all the ice being shoved down pants, women being slapped, fat shaming and whatnot? I have zero interest in watching it’s ‘dad’. Why watch something that’s clearly triggering? Animal seems like Vanga on steroids and that’s scary. As I pondered Vanga and women (I wonder what mother wounds he carries, or are they father wounds?) I ended up Googling his wife. You can guess why.
2) Action and gore are not my cup of tea and Animal seems to be little apart from that. I find constant bloodshed and senseless violence just that—senseless. So, no thanks. Even if the film wasn’t seeped in misogyny and set in some parallel universe where Vanga got the unfathomable idea that he could make a film that could have some semblance of feminism, nay, regular human interactions, I would still not watch such a violent film. Seriously, with everything going on in the real world, do we need an extra dose of ferocity?
3) So, you’re asking me to watch a film about an emotionally messed-up man-child who goes about doing whatever he pleases, all while facing no consequence whatsoever? Hard pass! I really don’t need to watch any more entitled men on the big screen or IRL.