Highlight

• Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s 2023 superhit family crime drama Animal was released on Netflix on January 26.
• Animal has Ranbir Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna in lead roles.
• Fans expressed disappointment with the makers for not releasing an Extended Cut.

Last year was one of the most exciting years for Indian Film fans.

While multiple box office records were created and shattered, there were quite a few films that became the talk of the town.

One of the most controversial movies of 2023, Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal has now been released on OTT and reactions are buzzing from all corners.

Here’s all you need to know about this latest Netflix release.

Announcing the OTT release, the official handle of Netflix on X (formerly Twitter) wrote, “The air is dense and the temperature is rising. Witness his wild rage in Animal, streaming from 26 January on Netflix in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.”

“We are absolutely overjoyed by the response ‘Animal’ received in theatres and now I am glad that audiences worldwide will get a chance to watch it in the comfort of their homes. The opportunity to showcase our work globally is truly special,” the actor said in a statement.

Fans Disappointed with ‘Animal’ OTT Release Version

Within a few hours of the official announcement, several excited fans of the movie started commenting on it with the hashtag #AnimalOnNetflix.

However, many viewers were soon left disappointed after the OTT release.

Let’s find out why.

X Users Ask Where’s the ‘Extended Cut’?

Since the Netflix release of Animal, several X (formerly Twitter) users have been asking about the extended cut of the film.

Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga, actor Bobby Deol and many sources online had hinted that the extended cut would likely be streamed. To the fan’s disappointment, that didn’t happen.

X users were quick to express their disappointment on the app with many tagging the director asking ‘where’s the extended cut.

As fans played the movie on Netflix, they noticed that the run-time was 3 hours 24 minutes, which was more than 3 hours 21 minutes – the version released in theatres.

They thought the OTT version had Animal’s deleted scenes, but once they played the film, it turned out to be 3 hours and 21 minutes long only.

No Kiss Between Ranbir Kapoor and Bobby Deol?

Since Animal exploded at the Box Office, rumours and speculations about characters have made rounds on Twitter, Reddit and other social media discourse groups.

One such speculation was a supposed kiss between Ranbir Kapoor and Bobby Deol in the climax showdown scene.

Soon the “kiss between Ranbir and Bobby” rumours did not remain rumours as the director Sandeep Reddy Vanga confirmed the scene in an interview. Sandeep had said, “Yes, actually there was a kiss. Bobby will kiss Ranbir, a kiss on the cheek, and say, ‘Bhai, I didn’t even spend one day with my father’, and he’ll go back and open his zip. It was superb when we were shooting, but I felt like the kiss was diluting the zip. Why I removed it was because Bobby sir gave this expression with a smirk, and a tear falls down his cheek. I felt that was a bigger cinematic high than coming and kissing.”

Vanga then went on to promise that the kiss would make it to the extended cut on Netflix India.

However, fans online were disappointed to find out that no such scene was included in the Netflix version of the film.

Animal starring Ranbir Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, Bobby Deol and Anil Kapoor in lead roles did great business at the box office.

Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga is known for delving into controversial territories with the various themes in his movies and reactions to his latest family crime drama “Animal” were no different.

“Animal” has been heavily criticised by a large section of the audience for its regressive narrative along with its cruel glorification of misogyny and patriarchy.

The plot of the film revolves around a complex relationship between a father and a son.

The film follows Ranvijay (Ranbir), the son of Balbir (Anil), a business magnate in Delhi, who moved to the United States, and returns after an assassination attempt was held on his father, following which Ranvijay plans to take revenge for his father.

Animal had a worldwide theatrical release on December 1, 2023. It received an exceptional response from the viewers and was a smash hit at the box office.

The film is currently available on the Netflix streaming platform.

Animal Star Cast

* Ranbir Kapoor: Ranvijay Vijay Singh Balbir / Aziz Haque
* Ahmad Ibn Umar: Young Ranvijay
* Anil Kapoor: Balbir Singh (Ranvijay’s father)
* Bobby Deol: Abrar Haque
* Leon Ung: Young Abrar
* Rashmika Mandanna: Geetanjali Geeta Singh (Ranvijay’s wife)
* Diyara Valecha: Young Geetanjali
* Tripti Dimri: Zoya
* Charu Shankar: Jyoti Singh (Balbir is the wife, and Ranvijay is the mother)
* Babloo Prithiveeraj: Asrar Haque
* Shakti Kapoor: Mishra
* Prem Chopra: Bade Dadaji

‘Animal’ OTT Release Date

‘Animal’ will be released on Netflix on Friday, January 26 in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.

ANIMAL Box-office Collection: Breaks All Records

ANIMAL has now surpassed Jawan, Gadar 2, and Pathaan with ₹512 Crores box-office collection (day 17), and is still running in theatres.

Thus, it is the Best/Highest Indian Grossing Movie of 2023. Even Karan Johar recently watched ANIMAL and gave it the tag of ‘Best Film of 2023’.

After Salman Khan’s Tiger 3 setback, Shahrukh Khan & Raju Hirani’s Dunki is expected to join ANIMAL or even set new records given the director’s legendary movies like 3 Idiots, PK, and Munnabhai MBBS! Prabhas & Prashanth Neel’s SALAAR can also be a dark horse!

Songs of the ‘Animal’

The music direction of the film is given by Harshavardhan Rameshwar, who has previously worked with the director of Arjun Reddy (2017) and Kabir Singh (2019).

The songs featured in the film are composed by Vishal Mishra, Jaani, Manan Bhardwaj, Shreyas Puranik, Pritam, JAM8, Ashim Kemson, Harshwardhan Rameshwar and Gurinder Seagal. Siddharth-Garima, Jaani, Manan Bhardwaj, Gurinder Seagal, Manoj Muntashir, Raj Shekhar, Ashim Kemson and Bhupinder Babbal have given the song’s lyrics.

‘Hua Main’, the first single was released on 11 October 2023 and became a huge hit amongst the fans.

The second song, ‘Satranga’ was released on 27 October 2023, and the third song, ‘Papa Meri Jaan’ was showcased on 14 November 2023. ‘Arjan Vailly’, the fourth single was showcased on 18 November 2023.

Will there be any additional scenes In Animal OTT?

The duration of the Animal movie was 3 hours and 21 minutes.

However, the director of the movie, Sandeep Reddy Vanga, hinted that there will be some more scenes added to the movie released on OTT.

In one of his interviews, the director said, “One thing I felt was I should have left the 3 hours 30 minutes instead of 3 hours 21 minutes. I don’t know why I edited those 8-9 minutes. Now, I will be using those 5-6 minutes extra.”

Courtroom drama over OTT release

Cine1 Studios Private Limited, which co-produced the movie, sued another producer T-series over non-payment compliance with contractual obligations.

Cine1 asked the court to stop the release of Animal on OTT on January 26, 2024, until it paid its dues and rendered a collection of the movie.

T-Series lawyer advocate Amit Sibal stated that Cine1 had renounced its rights for 2.2 crore. He also mentioned that the company concealed the document from the court and thus was not entitled to relief.

Reactions to the missing ‘extended cut’

Expressing disappointment at the missing extended cut, X (formerly Twitter) users shared their discontent. One post read, “Animal extended cut is a scam lol. Original runtime 3H23M. Netflix runtime is 3H24M (eyeroll emojis).”

Another comment questioned, “Where is the extended cut version of Animal on Netflix? It was supposed to be a 3h and 44m run time right?”

FAQs

Q1. Is Animal a hit?

Answer. On the box office front, the film was a huge commercial success and went on to gross over Rs 800 crore globally, making it one of the most successful Hindi films ever.

Q2. Why Animal movie is controversial?

Answer. After the theatrical release of the 2023 superfit film Animal, a segment of the audience found the movie objectionable. Criticisms included its portrayal of toxic masculinity, misogyny, a chauvinistic approach, unnecessary violence, and poor treatment of women, creating an online uproar.

Q3. How long is Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal?

Answer. “Animal” is definitely one of the Hindi film industry’s longest-running films of recent times. The Ranbir Kapoor starrer ‘Animal’ has a runtime of 3 hours 21 minutes.

Q4. What is the budget of Animal?

Answer. Sandeep Reddy Vanga invested significantly in “Animal,” with a reported budget of around Rs. 100 crores.