Sandeep Reddy Vanga has opened up about the criticism that his last directorial Animal got and questioned why it was him only who was targeted over the controversial movie which, as per many, promotes toxic masculinity. He said that he understands that film industry stakeholders target directors who take time to make movies and would rather not “upset” an actor with criticism who works much more.
Acknowledging that Ranbir Kapoor’s performance in Animal was appreciated while criticism for the film came his way, Sandeep Reddy Vanga said, “People who criticised Animal, the film related people, said ‘But Ranbir ne tod diya’. I have no jealousy about Ranbir but usne tod diya aur writer director ne yeh kar diya, I don’t understand this disparity. I understand they want to work with Ranbir Kapoor. Mere pe comment marna easy hai because I have a new place to make for myself. A filmmaker works for 2-3 years on one film and an actor appears in 5-6 films. Jiske saath kam zyada hai usko bolenge nahi.”
After working with Bollywood stars Shahid Kapoor in Kabir Singh and Ranbir Kapoor in Animal, Sandeep Reddy Vanga has got pan-India actor Prabhas onboard his next, titled Spirit. While the movie was announced in 2021, it is expected to go on the floors sometime this year. The Kalki 2898 AD star will play a cop in the movie, said to have dark themes like Vanga’s projects usually have.