Sandeep Reddy Bhanga’s ‘Animal’ starring Ranbir Kapoor made a stir at the box office last year. The film has grossed around Rs 900 crore worldwide.
Despite its success, however, the film has received a lot of criticism. Some viewers and critics have described ‘Animal’ as extremely masculine, misogynistic and brutally violent.
Famous singer and writer Javed Akhtar has also made a special comment. Without naming the film, Javed Akhtar said the commercial success of a problematic film is a dangerous trend.
The 78-year-old screenwriter was speaking at the Ajanta Ellora International Film Festival in Aurangabad earlier this week, expressing concern over the current state of cinema.
According to Akhtar, this is a time for today’s young filmmakers to show what kind of characters they want to create that the audience will like.
“For example, if a man in a film asks a woman to lick his shoes or if a man says it’s okay to slap a woman and yet if the film is a super duper hit, that’s very dangerous,” Akhtar said.
Apparently without naming any film, Javed Akhtar referred to a key scene from ‘Animal’ where the film’s lead character Ranvijay (Ranbir Kapoor) asks his girlfriend Zoya (Tripti Dimri) to lick his shoes to prove her love for him.
However, the veteran screenwriter also said that it is the responsibility of the audience to decide which films to accept and which to reject.
Javed Akhtar said the writers are confused about what kind of hero to present on the screen due to the confusion among the audience. He believes that the audience play a major role in the presentation of characters.
“When the audience is clear about what’s right and what’s wrong, writers include big characters. But when audiences can’t understand what is right and what is wrong, then writers can’t create great characters.” Akhtar added.