In the film, the character Manju Maai, played by Chhaya Kadam, talks about her turbulent marriage and suggests that a man who loves you has the right to beat you. “A man who loves you has the right to beat you. One day, I too exercised my right,” he taunts Manju in the relevant scene.
This dialogue bears a striking similarity to Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s comments in which he defended a controversial scene in ‘Kabir Singh’ and argued that physical aggression is a manifestation of love. In her conversation with Film Companion, Vanga talked about the slap scene in the movie ‘Kabir Singh’ and said, “If you can’t touch your woman wherever you want, you can’t slap her, you can’t kiss her, I can’t use swear words. I can’t see the emotion there.”
Kiran Rao’s alleged dig at Vanga comes after her previous talks about glorifying certain themes in Bollywood. Rao had criticized the portrayal of persistent stalking in films like ‘Kabir Singh’. Vanga responded indirectly, defending her work and citing examples from other films, including Aamir Khan’s ‘Language’.
Despite Vanga’s plea, Rao clarified that he had not watched the movie ‘Animal’ and refused to comment directly on his work. However, Vanga’s team later resurfaced an old video of Rao allegedly talking about the director.
Additionally, the post highlights ongoing debates in the film industry regarding the portrayal of sensitive themes and the responsibilities of filmmakers. Kiran Rao’s movie, domestic violenceIt also reignites debates around the portrayal of violence and misogyny in Indian cinema.
