Animal Movie Review, Casts, Release, Production

Animal Movie Review: “Animal” is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language action drama film co-written, directed, and edited by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, and produced by T-Series Films, Bhadrakali Pictures, and Cine1 Studios. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Rashmika Mandanna, and Triptii Dimri. The plot follows Ranvijay Singh as he discovers an assassination attempt on his father and embarks on a path of vengeance and destruction. Let’s talk about Animal movie review, casts, release, production and story.

The film was officially announced in January 2021. Principal photography commenced in April 2022 and concluded by April 2023, with Amit Roy handling the cinematography. The soundtrack album features compositions by Pritam, JAM8, Vishal Mishra, Jaani, Manan Bhardwaj, Shreyas Puranik, Ashim Kemson, and Harshavardhan Rameshwar. With a runtime of 201 minutes, “Animal” is among the longest Indian films ever made. It was initially scheduled for release in August 2023 but was postponed due to post-production work.

“Animal” was theatrically released on 1 December 2023, in both standard and IMAX formats. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the cast performances, songs, background scores, action sequences, and technical aspects, but criticized the screenplay and runtime. The film also sparked controversy for its portrayal of toxic masculinity and misogynistic scenes.

Despite the mixed reviews, “Animal” broke several box office records for a Hindi film, both domestically and internationally. It has grossed ₹917.82 crore (US$110 million) worldwide, making it the third highest-grossing Indian film of 2023, the fifth highest-grossing Hindi film, the eighth highest-grossing Indian film, the highest-grossing A-rated Indian film, and the highest-grossing film of Ranbir Kapoor’s career. At the 69th Filmfare Awards, the film garnered 19 nominations and won six awards, including Best Actor for Ranbir Kapoor.

Story

Ranvijay “Vijay” Singh is the son of Balbir Singh, a powerful industrialist based in Delhi. Despite Balbir’s strict demeanor, Vijay deeply loves his father, a sentiment unknown to Balbir due to his busy schedule that keeps him away from his family.

One day, Balbir sends Vijay to a boarding school in the USA after Vijay threatens his sister Reet’s bullies with an AK-47. Vijay completes his education and returns home years later. During Balbir’s birthday party, an argument with his brother-in-law Varun leads to Balbir expelling Vijay from the house again. Vijay marries his childhood girlfriend Geetanjali, and they cut ties with their families, moving to the USA.

Eight years later, Vijay, Geetanjali, and their two children return to India after learning about an assassination attempt on Balbir. Upon meeting his father, Vijay reconciles with his family and sets out to uncover the assassin’s identity. He gathers his second cousins for support and recruits a body double for his father, who is eventually killed by a gangster named Asrar Haque. Vijay discovers Varun’s involvement in the assassination attempt and publicly kills him at a conference, where Asrar is also present. Later, Vijay meets Freddy, an arms dealer, at a hotel. Asrar arrives with his men to kill Vijay, but Vijay takes them down with a machine gun, killing Asrar but getting severely wounded in the process.

Two weeks later, Vijay undergoes a heart transplant. Meanwhile, in Scotland, Asrar’s brother Abrar Haque learns of Asrar’s death during his wedding and publicly kills one of his men. Abrar, along with his other brother Abid, shoots the man who was keeping tabs on Asrar, revealing that Abrar was behind the assassination attempt on Balbir. After several months, Vijay recovers and starts an extramarital affair with Zoya, the fiancée of his heart donor. Zoya reveals she was sent by Abrar to honey trap him so one of his brothers, who underwent plastic surgery to resemble Vijay, could kill his family. Vijay reveals he knew this and played along to identify the mastermind.

Vijay learns from his grandfather, Rajdheer Singh, that Abrar and his brothers are his second cousins, the grandchildren of Shamsher Singh, Rajdheer’s younger brother. Shamsher’s son Azim, who converted to Islam and married multiple times, was denied a share in Balbir’s assets, prompting Shamsher to commit suicide. Abrar witnessed this and became mute from the trauma. Vijay reconciles with Geetanjali after revealing his affair with Zoya.

Vijay and his cousins stop Abrar from escaping the country in a private jet with Abid. A violent fight ensues, ending with Vijay brutally slitting Abrar’s throat. During Diwali, Balbir reveals he has stage 4 ALL and only a few months to live. He acknowledges that his lack of affection caused Vijay’s aggression and apologizes to him. Vijay bitterly mourns his impending loss. Geetanjali leaves for the USA with their children, but their son Abhay returns to Vijay.

In a post-credits scene, Aziz Haque, the youngest Haque brother and a butcher in Istanbul, is revealed as the one who underwent plastic surgery to resemble Vijay. Zoya and Abid are with him, and Zoya is pregnant, uncertain if the father is Aziz or Vijay. After brutally killing two of Vijay’s cousins, Aziz sets out with Abid to avenge their brothers’ deaths.

Main Casts

Production

In September 2019, it was reported that Sandeep Reddy Vanga would step into the role of producer for his next directorial venture in Bollywood. It was further revealed that he would co-produce the project alongside Murad Khetani, Ashwin Varde, Bhushan Kumar, and Kishan Kumar under Cine1 Studios and T-Series. On October 10, Bhadrakali Pictures, Vanga’s new production banner, announced their collaboration for his next directorial, marking their second partnership after “Kabir Singh” (2019).

In early December, Vanga reportedly approached Ranbir Kapoor to play the lead role in the film. According to ETimes, Kapoor was “keen” on the project but wanted to hear the final script before committing, as it was still being written.

By June 2020, it was reported that Vanga had met Kapoor in January and narrated another script, reportedly titled “Devil.” In late December, Anil Kapoor was confirmed to be part of the cast. On January 1, 2021, an official public announcement was made, revealing the title of the film and the crew involved. In late April, Bobby Deol and Parineeti Chopra were cast, with Deol playing the lead antagonist and Chopra initially cast as the lead actress.

However, in March 2022, reports indicated that Rashmika Mandanna was set to perform an item number for the film. Later that month, Mandanna replaced Chopra after Vanga expressed dissatisfaction with Chopra’s photoshoot results. On April 2, Mandanna’s involvement was officially announced, which she described as “a dream come true.” Vanga cited “Kill Bill” as an inspiration for the film’s action sequences.

Release