Filmmakers Neeraj Ghaywan and lyricist-writer Varun Grover have deftly poked fun at filmmaker Anurag Kashyap for lauding Animal director Sandeep Reddy Vanga and asking reviewers to speak with the latter one-on-one to resolve any misunderstandings they may have about the contentious film. Calling Vanga “the most misunderstood, judged, and reviled filmmaker at the moment”, Kashyap on Saturday took to Instagram to share a picture with the Animal director. Along with photos of the two of them, Anurag Kashyap also shared a comment about Vanga. He was so enthusiastic about the Ranbir Kapoor-starring film “Animal” that he referred to it as “the biggest game changer of Hindi cinema in the longest time.” “To me, he is the most honest, vulnerable, and a lovely person,” he wrote alongside the photo, revealing that he had watched Animal twice and urging critics to engage with Vanga directly.
Avinash Tiwary, who was recently seen on the show ‘Kaala’, wrote, “Judged, honest and lovely human being maybe but misunderstood and reviled am not sure. I think he is fairly successful in the kind of response he has been able to generate. Great for an Artist but Extremely Unfortunate for the naive audience. We need good Artists but we need a better audience and that includes all of us (sic).”
Anurag’s post read,” Had a great evening with @sandeepreddy.vanga . The most misunderstood, judged and reviled Filmaker 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 every thing I asked of him about his film that I actually saw twice . 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 .”
Ghaywan and Grover have already worked with Kashyap
Anurag Kashyap co-produced Ghaywan’s directorial debut film Masaan. Ghaywan disagreed, posting “cringe” in the comments area. Grover, a well-known figure connected to Kashyap’s endeavors, left a “No.” remark on the page.
Considering that Ghaywan and Grover have already worked with Kashyap, their responses are very significant. Ghaywan previously served as Kashyap’s chief assistant director on the critically acclaimed Gangs of Wasseypur. He co-directed the second season of Netflix’s Sacred Games with Kashyap. Grover is a well-known screenwriter and lyricist who has worked with Kashyap on several films, such as That Girl in Yellow Boots and Gangs of Wasseypur, Bombay Velvet, and Raman Raghav 2.0.
Reactions of Netizens
The public looked highly disappointed by the director’s appreciation of Vanga. One user wrote,” So heartbroken to see this, the man who introduced the feminism wave in Bollywood, changed filmmaking for a generation, losing his soul and appreciating this bs to stay relevant. Really sad. Still love Kashyap but can’t respect him anymore.” Another user commented,” I won’t be surprised if Anurag starts appreciating films like Adipurush in a few years. Studying his cinema as a student to now seeing this, sad.” One also said,” Anurag you were right. You’re really lost.”
By: Gursharan Kaur