Animal director Sandeep Reddy Vanga says he confronts only those who provoke him: ‘You are throwing bouncers; I am playing defence’

Meanwhile, Sandeep Reddy Vanga recently claimed that he only confronts those who “provoke” him, suggesting that he is always civil to those who hail or praise him. “You (media persons and those who criticise him) are throwing bouncers; I am trying to play defence. You are throwing a ball, and you don’t want me to play defence? If I don’t, it (the ball) will break my face,” he said during a chat with Galatta Plus, adding that those criticising him should be glad that he’s not the bowler.

“Whoever I have replied to until now are the ones who provoked me or said something. I never provoke anyone. I am not saying that I get provoked easily… But I felt, for a few people, you need to give a reply. These people are trying to throw stones, and we are trying to keep quiet. I feel it’s a weakness. How many days will you keep quiet? Though not for everybody, you have to answer back to a few people,” he added.

Referring to his controversial film Animal, which, though emerged as a blockbuster, earned significant flak for its perceived misogyny and glorification of violence, Vanga said that he would have made the film even more brutal had he known beforehand that Ranbir Kapoor was excellent in doing action sequences. He also acknowledged tailoring parts of the script to Ranbir’s strengths.

Mentioning that when writing a script with a particular actor in mind, their prowess and talents will involuntarily influence the text, he said, “Since you have seen their work, you know what they can do best. So, you write a few scenes for the gallery and a few for the actor.”

When asked if he could mention a scene in Animal which he wrote particularly keeping Ranbir in mind, Vanga said, “That explanation scene of alpha-beta, the kind of gaze he was giving and talking, the way he was explaining… Since he is such a great actor, no matter how lengthy the scene is, he will take pauses and talk, and yet it will be an interesting scene.”

“That courage came from his acting capabilities. If it was a two-paragraph moment, I made it four paragraphs knowing that Ranbir would do it. However, I didn’t know he would be great in action sequences; otherwise, I would have emphasized that aspect more, not in terms of length but in brutality,” he added.

After Animal, Sandeep Reddy Vanga is currently working on his upcoming project titled Spirit, which will feature Prabhas in the lead role. During the same conversation, he claimed that the movie would earn Rs 150 crore on the opening day.