After getting an A-certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification, Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal has been rated 18 (suitable for adults only) by the British Board of Film Certification (BBFC). The film, on the site, has been described as a “dark Tamil language action drama that charts a man's relentless pursuit of twisted revenge at all costs. Fight scenes are sustained and gory, domestic abuse is thematic, and there are isolated moments of sexual abuse.” The film is a Hindi release and it has been incorrectly labelled as a Tamil language film on the British website.
The film has been given points for various themes like ‘Violence’, ‘Threat and Horror’, ‘Language’, ‘Sex’, ‘Sexual violence and sexual threat’, ‘Injury detail’ and ‘Alcohol and tobacco.’ There are also mild spoilers of the film on the site.
On ‘Violence’, the film receives five points and the description of the violence reads, “A man uses a knife to saw at another’s throat. A man uses meat cleavers to murder two prisoners. There is a frenzied stabbing. There are several scenes of domestic abuse in which men strike, humiliate, coerce and manipulate women and children. Fight scenes – in which guns, blades and fists are used – are sustained and bloody.”
It gets three points in the ‘Threat and Horror’ category and the description reads, “There are moderate scenes of threat, including when a man puts a pistol into another’s mouth. A man points a gun at a pregnant woman. A teenager takes a gun into a school to intimidate bullies.”
Animal was rated 4 for profanity, along with 3 for ‘Sex’ and 4 for ‘Sexual violence and sexual threat’. “A bloodied murderer lies on top of his new wife in front of wedding guests. It is implied that he means to rape another woman. A man has sex with a woman as a ruse to make her fall in love with him, following which he humiliates her.”
For ‘Injury Detail’ the film again scored full. “There is sight of a severed arm, as well as piles of bloody corpses.”
Although fans are excited about Animal, the description on the BBFC site suggests that the film might get mired in controversy again when it gets released.
Apart from Ranbir, the film also stars Rashmika Mandanna, Bobby Deol and Anil Kapoor in pivotal roles. It releases in theatres on December 1.