Animal, directed, written, and edited by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, with screenplay and story by Vanga himself, was released on 1st December 2023 in cinemas globally. Animal stars Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, Bobby Deol, and Tripti Dimri, alongside others, in primary roles. The film has been facing criticism and backlash since its release for “glorifying” sexism, misogyny, patriarchy, violence, and toxicity.
Animal extensively uses violence and sex as thematic baits to entertain the audience. Every violent or abusive scene is accompanied by excessively loud background music to complement it. The female characters are poorly portrayed, and their roles in society are depicted narrow-mindedly. However, I’ve identified three lessons about family and relationships that Animal teaches us, despite being a highly controversial film.
Beware: Spoilers Ahead!
Your family ought to be your first priority.
Ranvijay Singh Balbir (played by Ranbir Kapoor) is unhealthily obsessed with his father. His relationship with his father has been portrayed in an over-the-top manner. However, when Balbir Singh is shot in an attempt to murder him, Ranvijay flies back to India to look after his father, and he wants to identify and hunt down the miscreants. He leaves behind his happy and settled married life in America to be with his ailing father, who he loves the most.
Ranvijay loves and respects his mother as well. His mother has always been his “defence lawyer” since his childhood, because his father, a filthily rich business tycoon, never had time to spare for his kids. For Ranvijay, his father is a “hero”. He is a “superhero” in his eyes. He wants to be named “Balbir Singh the Second”. He was so inspired by and in awe of his father that his love for him grows into “madness”. Sonu Nigam’s song “Papa Meri Jaan” beautifully captures the essence of an intimate father-son relationship.
Animal beautifully portrays Ranvijay’s equation and rapport with his sisters. He supports them and takes care of them. His elder sister, Reet, is married and has two children. However, her marriage is abusive and toxic. Ranvijay stands by his sister and calls out his brother-in-law for his inappropriate behaviour towards her.
Reet is a post-graduate from Harvard, but is not allowed to work or join the family business because of her husband’s controlling behaviour. She is not even allowed to speak freely and express her opinions in family matters because of her toxic husband. Ranvijay was young when his sister got married, else he would have never let her marry Varun, her husband.
Ranvijay wants Roop, his younger sister, to marry a man who is gentle and caring towards her. He wants her to join the family business and work after her marriage. He wants to arrange a “swayamvar” for her so that she chooses a great guy as her life-partner. He looks at his sisters with respect and high regard.
There is a scene in the film in which young Ranvijay, a school-going lad, enters his sister’s college with a gun and fires it in class to threaten the guys in her class who were involved in ragging and abusing her. He does this to threaten the wrong-doers, as he is infuriated when his sister tells him that a few guys in her college touched her inappropriately, for the sake of “ragging”.
Ranvijay adores his wife immensely too. Geetanjali, his wife, says that he is like her gynaecologist, as he knows her in and out. When she was delivering her two babies in America, no female member from the two families was there to help her and look after her. Her cervix was not opening on inducing labour, and she lost a lot of blood. Ranvijay took care of her like a nurse all by himself, amidst all the mess, and never complained even once.
When his in-laws come to visit their house after Ranvijay loses his senses of smell, taste and hearing, her mother tells her to plan her future because Ranvijay is going to die. His heart is failing. And she has two children. Then, Geetanjali tells her mother how Ranvijay has always been a support system for her, and how she really does not know anything about her marriage and her marital life.
I realise that the film Animal portrays everything in a very excessive and radical manner, but it does teach us how our family should be our first priority, and how taking care of our family members and being around them is important and wholesome.
You ought to stay connected with your extended family.
Besides prioritising our immediate family members, staying in touch with our extended family is equally important. Ranvijay’s grandfather has two brothers. One of his brothers lives in their “pind” in Punjab along with all his family members. However, it has been a long time since they have met each other or even spoken to each other.
Balbir Singh’s family had sent an invitation card to their relatives in the “pind” on the occasion of Reet’s wedding, but no one attended the wedding from their native village. This annoys Ranvijay. He wants to stay connected with them, and maintain healthy relations with his cousin brothers in the “pind”.
When Balbir Singh is shot twice in broad daylight, Ranvijay flies back to Delhi with his half, Geetanjali, and their two children. He tries to find out who the culprits are, but he initially fails. No one is able to trace or track the culprits. This is when Ranvijay realises that he needs the help of his cousins back in their “pind”.
Ranvijay visits their familial “pind” in Punjab, and meets all his cousins and the rest of the members of his family. At first, some of them act bitterly. However, as he explains to them how he is on a mission to catch hold of the culprits, and why he requires their help and support, they eventually agree to help him out.
Ranvijay’s cousins realise how he not only wants their physical support but also their moral support, in the face of adversity. His cousins come home with him, and agree to stay in his mansion and help him. The song “Haiwaan”, a lesser-known song from the soundtrack of Animal, depicts the bond and the connection between Ranvijay and his cousin brothers, who have united after many years to take care of and protect Balbir Singh. The song captures the essence of Punjab as well.
Again, I do realise that Ranvijay and his cousins engage in a lot of violence and bloodshed, most of which doesn’t make sense. The whole action sequence of Ranvijay and his cousins killing hundreds of people in a hotel using guns and daggers and a machine-gun and what not, with over-the-top music playing in the background, is one of the most ridiculous scenes that I’ve seen in the history of Hindi cinema.
However, the fact that our cousins are the ones who shall help us and be there for us in times of need, is conveyed well through the film. Hence, it is important to stay connected with them and maintain harmonious relations with them. Disputes are quite common among siblings in all families, but sorting out these quarrels is vital. Animal perfectly portrays this.
You should choose who you want to share your love with, or who you want to lead your life with, cautiously.
Balbir Singh says, “I don’t believe in regrets”. Jyoti, his wife, says, “Neither does your son”.
Regret. Regret is what remains when one is stuck in a toxic relationship, or in an abusive marriage, or anything of that sort. Reet, Ranvijay’s elder sister, is stuck in an abusive marriage. Her husband, Varun, is controlling, disrespectful, and often violent. She married him because she loves him, but she has shared her love with the wrong person.
Ranvijay kills Varun by first choking him and then shooting him. Not only was Varun an abusive husband but he was also greedy. He was greedy to win over Swastik Steel, Balbir Singh’s business company. Varun attempts to kill Balbir Singh. He also tries to kill Ranvijay, and he does all this to take control of Swastik Steel. So, Ranvijay kills him to avoid all danger to his family. (I realise that this is over-the-top as well.)
Ranvijay tells Reet that she has shared her love with the wrong person. Varun’s father was a scamster. Varun was directly involved in the assassination attempt on their father. Hence, he believes that Reet should not regret his death at all. He motivates his sister by telling her that she is a beautiful and empowered woman who has the right to remarry, and join the family business and work. He tells her that Varun was a criminal hence his death should not be mourned.
Ranvijay tells Reet how a life-partner or a companion should be chosen cautiously and wisely. He gives her Geetanjali’s example. Geetanjali’s father is a Mathematics professor at a college. She comes from a simple and clean background. This is how love happens. You see. You think. You decide. You act. Arijit Singh’s song “Satranga” beautifully captures the essence of love and bliss in a marriage.
Ranvijay wants his sisters to work after their marriage. He wants them to realise and put to use their potential and capabilities. When Ranvijay and Geetanjali were living in the USA, Geetanjali was working. After coming back to India, she is not. She gets bored at home as she is jobless. But Ranvijay wants the women in his house to work and earn. (I know that that is the bare minimum that women can expect from men, but that is how society functions, and we cannot overlook certain societal truths.)
Love must not blindfold us. Otherwise, we might have to regret our choices in the future. Love is not all. Love is not enough. If there is no respect in a relationship, it should be terminated. It should not be tolerated for the sake of love alone. Reet’s strained relationship with her toxic husband, and Ranvijay-Geetanjali’s marital bliss, are satisfactory examples of what does not work and what works in a relationship, be it of any kind, respectively.
Animal is running in cinemas now. It will digitally premiere on Netflix soon. You can read my thoughts on the most polarising film of 2023 here.