Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal faced a lot of criticism for its misogynist approach and over-hyped action sequences, but Anurag Kashyap was one of the few filmmakers, who appreciated the film and extended his support to Vanga. Earlier, this year Anurag took to Instagram and said the Animal director is the most misunderstood, judged and reviled filmmaker in Indian cinema at the moment. In a recent podcast, his daughter Aaliyah Kashyap criticised the movie and shared that she was shocked to see her father praising the director and his film. To which Anurag said that even he was being isolated and criticised for making a film like Dev D. The Gangs Of Wasseypur director also mentioned that he had a 5-hour-long chat with Vanga and liked him very much. 

Aaliyah Kashyap on her podcast Young, Dumb & Anxious, said “The caption of the post where you were promoting the guy which I was not very happy about. I actually saw Animal and called you immediately and ranted, ‘What a horrible, misogynistic movie it is and how much I hated it,’ and you agreed with me. A week later when I opened Instagram, I saw a post from my father, promoting a man I was b*tching about.”

Replying to the statement, Anurag said “I met him (Sandeep Reddy Vanga) and I liked him. I like the guy. I’ve had questions of my own and I wanted to talk to him about his film (Animal) and I invited him and I had a long five-hour conversation and I like the guy... I always believe in talking to people. I was cancelled after Dev D by a lot of people for making a 'misogynistic' film... I have often seen people isolating someone, attacking someone and that is not the way to be.”

“This man (Sandeep), what you see is what he is. People may like Animal, they may not like Animal, but Animal is a major tectonic shift in the way films will be made. People will realise its impact in 5-10 years from now. Post Animal, every action movie looks fake. When you see, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (Starring Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff), all those flips and fighting, it all looks fake because somehow the action in that film (Animal) and the use of music in that film had an impact, the technical details in the film had an impact on the audience. That will forever impact cinema,” he added.

Earlier on an Instagram post, Anurag wrote, “Had a great evening with @sandeepreddy.vanga . The most misunderstood, judged and reviled Filmmaker at the moment . To me he is the most honest , vulnerable and a lovely person. I wanted to meet the man and I had questions and he answered everything I asked of him about his film that I actually saw twice.”

He continued, “Thank you for being patient and being yourself m. This is a person you can actually confront and talk to . Pls talk to him about the problems you have with the film . 40’days since i first saw ANIMAL and 22 days since I saw it the second time . The biggest game changer of Hindi cinema in the longest time and a film whose impact (good or bad) which can’t be denied . And the filmmaker who takes it all on his chin . Great evening spent with him .”

Ranbir Kapoor starrer Animal became a huge blockbuster movie in 2023. The sequel of the film Animal Park is currently in the writing stage and is expected to go on floors in 2025.