The fact that Tanishaa Mukerji is a movie buff is known to one and all. Having been in showbiz for many years, she has a good understanding of impactful content. The actress who’s been extremely busy and preoccupied with Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa finally managed to see Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal and shared her honest opinion on the same. When asked about her thoughts on Animal, Tanishaa quipped and we quote,

“Well, my take on Animal is that it wasn’t an anti-feminist film at all. In fact, I truly feel that it was a film that endorses equality on many levels. For instance, when Ranbir’s character tells his sister about speaking up after having done her education from the prestigious Harvard University, that’s in a way motivating her to take over the business and use her mind and education for it. I thought that was absolutely brilliant. Also, the way Ranbir’s character makes a small gesture by putting on the shoes for his wife Rashmika during their honeymoon is so interesting and heartwarming. How many men in India will actually bow down to their wives and do that? So, I thought it was beautiful and the movie is pretty much in favour of feminism and so is Ranbir’s character. It was very realistic because in certain instances, it actually makes women understand their own hypocrisy better. For instance, when Ranbir tells Rashmika that you are fine with me killing people but you aren’t fine with me cheating on you? Isn’t that hypocrisy? What is worse? Murder or cheating? I thought it was a very well-written film and beautifully done. I loved every moment of Animal. I know a lot of women who perhaps won’t see the movie thinking it’s anti-women. But I genuinely feel they need to see the movie because it’s not anti-women by any means. We need to understand the psyche of men who have to take care of their entire family. We have to understand the psyche of men who have been brought up from childhood to be the responsible one. Ranbir says it so beautifully to Anil Kapoor who was going to protect my sister from being ragged and harassed when you were busy? The way he did it is certainly questionable but we have to understand the psyche. It comes from a sense of responsibility to be protective towards the entire family. I feel it was beautifully exaggerated in an entertaining way and I was totally blown away with the movie. I have praised Tarantino for creating Kill Bill and now, I feel I must praise Sandeep Reddy Vanga for creating Animal. Today’s audiences have seen all this and have been exposed to this type of content. Hollywood films have been doing better than our films when dubbed in our languages. So, I feel it’s wrong of critics and our very own industry people to criticize it the way it has been criticised. I am happy for Sandeep Reddy Vanga, Ranbir Kapoor and the entire team’s success. I feel Ranbir is one of the finest actors in our industry today. I also feel it was very pro-feminism especially because of that scene where Ranbir tells Rashmika that you are getting married to someone just because of the choice of your parents. Whereas, in the olden days, women used to choose the strongest men because they used to fight, kill, and show their strength and worthiness. At that time, the women used to choose and what else can be superior to that? That’s truly the height of feminism. Telling a woman to choose the strongest man who can protect and take care of you is the best thing ever. That’s the world we live in today and that’s why, I feel women need to realize this. If women become strong, men automatically become stronger with their support. There were some beautiful scenes in the movie, especially between Ranbir and Anil Kapoor. According to me, Animal was a very pro-feminist film thereby endorsing equality. It was a very important film because it made us think for ourselves, all thanks to the director. As a society, we have been doing certain things blindly and this movie was a beautiful way to reflect on that thought.”

Tanishaa concluded by saying,

“The ‘lick my boot’ line has been taken completely out of context. According to me, the context was that when Tripti’s character came to confess and tell him that she loves him, it was his way of testing whether Tripti was genuinely in love or not. In order to love, one needs to keep his or her ego aside. Licking someone else’s shoe is the worst thing someone can agree with and that’s why, when she is actually ready to do it, he doesn’t let her do so because he realises that she indeed does love him. That’s exactly why he let her go despite having killed everyone who’s been against his father. That was the beauty of the subtext and that was my perception of the scene. I understand a lot of people have taken objection to these dialogues because we live in a society that’s fighting a lot of battles against women. However, at the end of the day, there’s a lot of things done in the name of art. We need to understand that art is about making people think & have these discussions by putting forward different point of views. So, I look at Bollywood as not just commercial cinema but also somebody’s art. I absolutely loved and enjoyed this movie and I am so glad it did wonders at the box office for everyone.”

Well, that’s truly an analytical approach towards decoding a movie we certainly love the detailed manner in which Tanishaa has decoded Animal. Here’s wishing her good luck and success for everything that she does going forward. Stay tuned for more updates.