Sandeep Reddy Vanga questions Parvathy’s understanding of cinema, says if actors can misunderstand films there’s no hope for audiences

Animal director Sandeep Reddy Vanga recalled actor Parvathy Thiruvothu's criticism of his films, and questioned her understanding of what constitutes glorification of violence.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | Updated: February 6, 2024 11:45 AM IST

2 min read

Sandeep Reddy Vanga reacted to Parvathy's comments about his films.

Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga reacted to actor Parvathy Thiruvothu’s comments about his films Kabir Singh and Arjun Reddy, and expressed dismay at her lack of understanding of what constitutes the glorification of violence. Vanga continued to face longstanding complaints about his sensibilities after the release (and success) of his latest film, Animal.

While he said that he would be happy to work with Kangana Ranaut, who has also criticised Animal publicly, he wasn’t so kind about Parvathy’s past comments about his earlier films. He told Siddharth Kannan in an interview, “People don’t understand what glorification means. They expect a lecture from the hero in the climax, where he admits to all his mistakes. They expect the hero to die a dog’s death. Forget regular people, even actors don’t understand this.”

Also read – Kiran Rao reacts to Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s criticism of Aamir Khan’s past work, urges him to have ‘man to man’ conversation with her ex-husband

He continued, “There was one Malayalam actor, Parvathy Thirovothu I think her name was. She said in an interview that Joker didn’t glorify killing. When Joker dances on the stairs while a song plays, she didn’t think that was glorification. I was shocked. She’s a very good actor, and if someone like her can feel Joker doesn’t glorify violence but Kabir Singh does, then what can we expect of the general public.”

In a 2019 roundtable interview with Film Companion, Parvathy had said, “Arjun Reddy or Kabir Singh both had the visual grammar of glorification, Joker did not. At no point did I feel at the character Joaquin (Phoenix) played (and think) ‘Arre yaar, I totally agree with you. You must kill everyone’.” Arjun Reddy actor Vijay Deverakonda was also present at that roundtable, as he was when his Liger co-star Ananya Panday criticised the film’s gender politics on Koffee with Karan.

Vanga said that he was taken aback by the harsh criticism that Kabir Singh received, especially since nobody had found fault with Arjun Reddy. Despite the complaints, Animal emerged as a major hit, grossing over Rs 900 crore worldwide.

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