Veteran screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar has broken his silence on filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga taking umbrage to his veiled criticism of the latter’s latest directorial Animal, starring Ranbir Kapoor. In an interview with Mojo Story, Javed clarified that while Sandeep has the right to make as many Animals as he wants, it’s a fact that the director couldn’t find any fault in Javed’s 53-year-long filmography.
Javed Akhtar Speaks About Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Remark About Mirzapur
“I was not criticising the filmmaker at all. I think in a democratic society, he has the right to make one Animal, and many Animals. I was concerned about the audience, not about the filmmaker. He has the right to make any film,” said Javed, who clarified that he hasn’t seen the film, but only heard about it. He doesn’t mind Sandeep valourising a character like that because the Constitution protects his right to do. He added that his concern lies with the crores of people who celebrated the film.
After Sandeep called out Javed for criticising the misogyny in his film but not flagging the same in the Prime Video India Original show Mirzapur, produced by his son Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment. “When he responded to me, I was honoured. In 53 years of my career, he could not find one film, one script, one scene, one dialogue, one song. So he had to go to my son’s office and find a TV serial, which is neither acted, directed or written by Farhan. His company has produced it. Nowadays, these big companies like Excel are producing a lot of things. So one of them is this. He mentioned that. It flattered me to no end. 53 years ke career mein tum kuchh bhi nahi nikaal paye (You couldn’t find anything sexist in 53 years of my career)? What a shame,” Javed added.
What Happened Between Javed Akhtar And Sandeep Reddy Vanga
The controversy erupted when Javed spoke at an event and said in reference to the shoe-licking scene between Ranbir and Triptii Dimri’s characters in Animal, “I believe it’s a testing time for the young filmmakers today as to what kind of characters they want to create that the society will applaud. For instance, if there’s a film in which a man asks a woman to lick his shoe or if a man says it’s okay to slap a woman, and if the film is a super duper hit, then that’s very dangerous.”
Sandeep responded to Javed’s criticism of his film in an interview with Siddharth Kannan, “Why didn’t he tell the same thing to Farhan Akhtar when he was producing Mirzapur. Duniya bhar ke gaali Mirzapur ek show mai hai (the series is full of abuses) and I haven’t watched the whole show. When the show was translated to Telugu, if you watch that, then you will feel like puking. Why is he not checking his son’s work?”
On the work front, Javed is writing the lyrics of Lahore 1947. Sandeep will next start shooting for Spirit and Animal Park.
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