Anurag Kashyap's take on Animal's 'toxic masculinity', says 'more people were taught feminism'

One of the year's major successes is Animal, starring Ranbir Kapoor. While breaking box office records, The Sandeep Reddy Vanga has sparked strong feelings due to a number of contentious issues, such as the film's sexist portrayal of women and its exaltation of toxic masculinity. In a recent interview with OTT Play, director Anurag Kashyap responded to Animal, stating that the movie 'is doing something positive' since it has sparked a discussion about women.

Speaking with OTT Play at the Kolkata International Film Festival, Anurag shared his thoughts on the reaction to Animal. He said, “You cannot force responsibility on anyone. People take responsibility for themselves or they don’t. How many people went and watched a film that you considered to be feminist? Only a handful of people watch them and underline if it was a real feminist film or a pseudo-feminist film. A film like Animal has galvanised more feminists in this country than any other feminist film. It has created more discussion around misogyny than any other film. So it is doing something good”.

He further added that most people were taught feminism because of Animal. "You need a provocateur in a society for people to understand. More people were taught feminism because of Animal and the discussions around it. Why are you scared of a provocateur? We are educated and learned people. Why are we afraid of someone who provokes us? I think being provoked is a good thing. I have always tried to make films to make people uncomfortable, as a filmmaker. When I made Ugly, I wanted people to go back and not sleep that night," he said.

Anil Kapoor plays the emotionally unavailable father, and Ranbir plays the role of the traumatised, vengeful son. It released in theatres worldwide on December 1, and has grossed ₹717.46 crore so far.