In a fresh update on the war of words between Adil Hussain and Sandeep Reddy Vanga, Hussain recently told Zoom that he wouldn’t have acted in the director’s2023 blockbuster Animal even if he was “paid Rs. 100-200 crore” for the film. This comes after Hussain, in April, called out “misogyny” and “violence” in Vanga’s Kabir Singh (2019).

Actor Indira Krishna, who played actor Rashmika Mandanna’s mother in Animal, says Hussain’s comments “surprised” her and that she “loved working” with Vanga.

“I support Sandeep because when you watch a film, you have to be very open to what the director is trying to say,” says Krishna, addressing opinions around the misogyny depicted in Animal: “It is the director’s vision of what Rannvijay (the protagonist, played by Ranbir Kapoor) is and how he is dealing with this character. It is high time we watch a film for entertainment and don’t take too much to heart”.

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(On Animal’s protagonist asking Triptii Dimri’s character to lick his shoes) It is the director’s vision of what Rannvijay is and how he is dealing with this character with anger issues and trauma. - Indira Krishnan