The other day, the official social media handles of 'Animal' mocked a film critic named Sucharitra Tyagi, who had panned the film as a desperately dull one. The makers of the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer quote-tweeted Tyagi's review and put out a poster that mentioned the hundreds of crores grossed by the action drama.
Supposedly, the post came straight from director Sandeep Reddy Vanga. The filmmaker has had an unhealthy relationship with Bollywood critics. When Rajeev Masand, the former film critic, gave 'Kabir Singh' a rating of 2 stars, Vanga said, "That fat guy gave me 2 stars. The audience gave me Rs 200 Cr."
Vanga is displaying a similar attitude now in the name of giving it back to the critics of 'Animal'. "The arrogance, the cockiness of the film’s team to attempt to ridicule a film critic is shocking. Solid independent free thought and film criticism have to survive in India. The danger signs are everywhere - from the clueless social media influencers who know nothing about the history of cinema to the trade pundits and others who jump up and down, doing cartwheels when a film joins the Rs 100+ Cr club!" wrote senior journalist Aseem Chhabra, commenting on what is transpiring.
