In a recent interview with Galata Plus, Sandeep Reddy Vanga explained why Abrar (Bobby Deol), the antagonist of his next film Animal, is a Muslim despite coming from a Sikh household. Abrar is the cousin of Rannvijay Singh, the main character of the movie (played by Ranbir Kapoor).
Abrar’s back story
Sandeep elucidated, “I’ve seen people when they enter a zone of zero confidence, people will come and say to them, ‘Go to a church, or go to a baba, he’ll give some taweez (pendant), change your name…’ I’ve seen people changing their religion because so much has happened to them. At a low point, they feel like it’s a new birth, it’s a change of identity completely… We see a lot of people converting to Islam and Christianity; we never see anybody converting to Hinduism.”
According to Sandeep, the concept gave him the ability to represent Abrar as someone who can have several women and children.“So, I thought I’ll use this, because you can get multiple wives in Islam. I can have multiple cousins with different faces; the drama will be bigger. That’s the only reason. There was no intention to show a Muslim in a bad light,” he added.
Abrar (Bobby Deol) in Animal becomes silent following the devastating loss of his father. He declares war on Ranvijay upon the death of his brother. It becomes clear later in the movie that they are related.
In a scene from the movie, Abrar is shown becoming enraged and venting his feelings on his wives after learning of his brother’s passing. He continues by pressuring his new bride. Some places have voiced dissatisfaction regarding the marital rape scene.
Bobby Deol’s views on his character
In conversation with The Quint, he said, “I’m not trying to promote anything. Yes, it was required. How do you showcase a character in such a short span, show what this man is capable of, what kind of person he is? All these scenes were required.” He added that his mother Prakash Kaur did not bear to watch the film.
About Animal
One of the biggest hits of the year stars Ranbir Kapoor, Bobby, Rashmika Mandanna, and Anil Kapoor among others. A son’s and his father’s tense relationship serves as the backdrop for the movie.
