Animal Team Slams Javed Akhtar For Calling The Film’s Success 'Dangerous': 'Your Art Form Is Big False'

The social media handle of Ranbir Kapoor’s film ‘Animal’ has criticised veteran lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar for calling the commercial success of the film a “dangerous” trend.

Veteran lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar called the commercial success of Animal a “dangerous” trend. ( Image Source :Getty Images )

New Delhi: The social media handle of Ranbir Kapoor’s film ‘Animal’ has criticised veteran lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar for calling the commercial success of the film a “dangerous” trend. The lyricist expressed his concerns about the state of cinema at an event and called the success of such films dangerous without naming Animal. He however mentioned a controversial scene from the film making it clear that he is talking about the Sandeep Vanga directorial. 

“I believe it’s a testing time for the young filmmakers today as to what kind of characters they want to create that the society will applaud. For instance, if there’s a film in which a man asks a woman to lick his shoe or if a man says it’s okay to slap a woman, and if the film is a super duper hit, then that’s very dangerous,” Akhtar had said. 

He was referring to a scene in the film, where Ranbir Kapoor’s character asks Zoya (Triptii Dimri) to lick his shoes to prove her love for him. 

Now, the official X handle of the film has reacted to the lyricist’s criticism and called his 'art form’ a ‘big FALSE.’ 

The tweet read, “Writer of your calibre cannot understand the betrayal of a lover (Between Zoya & Ranvijay) then all your art form is big FALSE & If a woman (betrayed and fooled by a man in the name of love) would have said "lick my shoe" then you guys would have celebrated it by calling it feminism. Let love be free from the politics of gender. Let's just call them lovers. LOVER cheated and lied. LOVER said lick my shoe. Period @Javedakhtarjadu.” 

Writer of your calibre cannot understand the betrayal of a lover (Between Zoya & Ranvijay) then all your art form is big FALSE 🙃 & If a woman (betrayed and fooled by a man in the name of love) would have said "lick my shoe" then you guys would have celebrated it by calling it…

— Animal The Film (@AnimalTheFilm) January 7, 2024

The X handle of the film has been replying to every criticism of the film by celebrities.  

Many users criticised the approach of the filmmakers. A user wrote, “Agar har criticism ka answer dena pad rha hai you know you made a problematic movie !!” 

“You all call yourself as Alpha males and get affected by someone's comments every few days lol,” wrote another user. 

“Imagine the desperate need to respond to every critical opinion only proves your need for approval and validation. Besides it is a testimony to how toxic, problematic and societally harmful the film is,” another user commented. 

Many users felt that the director Sandeep Vanga is the one replying to the criticism from the film’s account. 

'Animal' was the most polarising film of 2023 with critics and a section of the audience calling the film out for its misogyny, glorified toxic behaviour, and violence while others loved the film.