Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga's 2023 film Animal, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, Bobby Deol, and Anil Kapoor in the lead roles, is set to release in Japan on February 13 next year. Yesterday, the film's cast members announced the news with a Japanese poster for it. "India's wildest cinematic experience reaches Japan," reads the caption for the announcement. The announcement coincided with Anil Kapoor's birthday, December 24. Interestingly, the day after, Christmas Day, marks Sandeep Reddy Vanga's birthday as well.
The controversial film tells the story of a youngster (Ranbir) having animalistic instincts who falls in love with a woman (Rashmika), who has a thing for the alpha male. The film explores their toxic marital life, the youngster's troubled relationship with his father (Anil), and tells a story of revenge involving Ranbir and Bobby Deol's characters.
Animal opened in theatres to polarising reviews, with critics either calling it a masterpiece that works wonders or a toxic dud that only caters to fans of Hindi cinema's hypermasculine narratives and does little else. The film also earned much criticism for its portrayal of female characters, which stands out especially in one sequence where Ranbir's character asks Triptii Dimri's character to lick his footwear. Back then, Sandeep Reddy Vanga hit back at the critics by questioning their integrity and intelligence to understand his film.
At the same time, the film is also remembered for its National Film winning music. It remains to be seen how those in Japan will respond to the film as it hits theatres in the country a day before Valentine's Day.
