Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was recently in Switzerland at the 77th edition of the Locarno Film Festival, wherein he spoke at length about his cinematic choices over the years. During one such segment, the actor stated how he does not like to do roles that demean women, and netizens wondered if it was a dig at Sandeep Reddy Vanga and his controversial film, Animal.
During the event, SRK opened up on one of his most iconic roles, Devdas, and stated how he never wanted people to look up to him. "I don't like to play characters which demean women. I'll be honest. I didn't want him to be liked for the reason in the film that, there is a woman, and he doesn't commit to her. I wanted him to come across as a person who is a bit of a spineless person. It's not somebody you should look up to. Yes, enactment might be nice. It's enjoyable but it's not the character that you take back home," Khan said.
As soon as the clip went viral, netizens felt that it was the actor's swipe at Animal, which was all over the news in 2023 after being labelled as "toxic" and "misogynist".
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"This is second time he has shaded Animal and Ranbir," a user commented, while another wrote, "Vanga will give a interview tomorrow and justify toxic behaviour."
Animal can be easily termed as one of the most controversial Bollywood movies of recent times, and it starred Ranbir Kapoor in the lead role. The film was criticised over its treatment of female characters, be it that of Rashmika Mandanna or Triptii Dimri. The film was also slammed for glorifying the negative connotation attached with the term 'alpha male'.
However, Ranbir had later stated that the film did not mean to glorify the toxicity of his character, and that it was solely made as a form of storytelling and entertainment.
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