Filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga is back in the limelight once again, this time for insinuating that becoming an IAS officer was easier than filmmaking. Vanga made the shocking statement while defending his controversial 2023 film, Animal, starring Ranbir Kapoor in the lead.
During his appearance on a podcast, Vanga recalled an old interview by IAS officer Vikas Divyakriti, in which he had said that films like Animal “take our society back by 10 years”. “The way he sounded, the way he was saying, it was literally, mujhe laga ki kuch criminal kaam kiya maine,” Vanga stated.
He then went on to say, “I feel that, he is an IAS officer, he studied to become one. What I think is, go to Delhi, get enrolled in an institute, give 2-3 years of your life, you can crack IAS. There will be a limited amount of books, right? You will study 1500 books…you can crack IAS. I’ll give you in writing. There is no course, there is no teacher that can make you a filmmaker and a writer.”
Vanga’s statement did not go down well with netizens who slammed the filmmaker for defending his film even after more than a year since it released in theatres. “He literally needs to shut up at this point. Everytime he opens his mouth he validates every single negative opinion people have had of the movie and it’s messaging (sic),” a user wrote on Reddit.
“When will he stop whining like a child man, just end this!” another user commented, while one said, “Any Tom Dick Harry can become a ‘Filmmaker’ but not an IAS officer. Duh even top 100 rank amongst more than a million people isn’t enough to become an IAS (sic).”
Animal released in December 2023 and it was one of the highest grossing films of the year. However, it also stirred a massive storm, leaving movie-lovers divided in two sections. While some criticised the film for glorifying misogyny, others lauded it for its “cinematic brilliance”.
Despite the debate, the film went on to earn around Rs 600 crore in India.
