Ranbir Kapoor's 2023 film Animal had a phenomenal box office performance, earning an estimated Rs 917 crore against a Rs 100 crore budget. But the film was heavily criticised for its themes and depiction of violence.
The Sandeep Reddy Vanga film is filled with gore and violence, accompanied with themes of misogyny, male chauvinism, and patriarchy that critics feared could have a negative impact on the audience.
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Kapoor addressed this issue during the ongoing International Film Festval of India (IFFI) held in Goa, when an audience member shared his opinion about the glorification of violence in his films Animal and Sanju.
The man explained how films like these could give out a bad message to the society, and praised the old films and songs which had good stories, to which Kapoor responded, “I completely agree with your opinion. As an actor, it is our responsibility to bring movies which bring a positive change to the society. Having said that, I'm an actor. It’s very important that I also dabble in different genres and different characters and play varied roles. But what you are saying is absolutely correct. We have to be more responsible towards the kind of films we make."
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Sanju (2018), a biopic of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt received a lot of criticism, mainly for its misleading narrative. Dutt was arrested under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) for illegal possession of weapons which were allegedly connected to the 1993 Bombay bombings. Though Kapoor's performance was lauded, the filmmakers were accused of clearing Dutt's criminal image and glorifying his actions.