Ranbir Kapoor says 'hard work got diminished' when social media claimed Animal was 'misogynistic'

Ranbir Kapoor

Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal, which came out last December, became a huge hit at the box office even though it received mixed reviews. Now, actor Ranbir Kapoor has addressed the criticism for the first time, saying that social media caused a lot of chaos.

Ranbir Kapoor on 'Animal'

During his appearance on Nikhil Kamath's podcast 'People by WTF,' Ranbir Kapoor mentioned that several people from the Indian film industry also shared their disappointment with him. The film sparked a heated debate when it was released, with critics and audiences split over its depiction of masculinity and violence.

When the host said that films should be seen as entertainment and not as sources of moral guidance, Ranbir explained that this was the intention behind Animal, but it was misunderstood.

He said, "Social media played havoc. They needed something to talk about, so they really went to town claiming it was a misogynistic film. What happens is that the hard work that you put in… I know the director had made Kabir Singh, which also faced the same thing, the hard work gets diminished. Because it gets this tag, which isn't true, the perception stayed with this film. So, the general public will speak very fondly about the film, but there are many people I meet, who tell me, ‘You shouldn't have done this film, we are so disappointed in you'. And a lot of people from the film industry (said the same thing). I quietly apologise and say, ‘Sorry I won't do it next time.' I don't really agree with them, but I am in that phase of my life I don't argue with anyone. If you don't like my work, I will say I am sorry I will try harder next time."

Known and loved for his 'chocolate boy' image, Ranbir Kapoor confessed that he took up Animal to break away from the image.

"I had always been following a career path where I was doing good roles, trying to give good social messages, play the ‘good boy' basically, the coming-of-age romantic image that I had. So, I found this very bold, adult-rated. I was scared that maybe the audience will not accept me. When the film released, even though it did amazing numbers and we got a lot of love, there is a big audience which found the film misogynist and wrong, in some way."