‘Remove the woke lens’: Sandeep Reddy Vanga to Indian Idol contestant who 'didn't like' Animal, Kabir Singh

In an episode of Indian Idol, Sandeep Reddy Vanga spoke about the criticism that he got for films, Animal and Kabir Singh, which fared well at the box office.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga has been getting a lot of hate because of his films Kabir Singh and Animal which were slammed by a section of audience for promoting male toxicity. The filmmaker recently got into an argument with an Indian Idol contestant, where he shared that people should look for entertainment in films instead of moral lessons.

How it all started

Sandeep Reddy Vanga was called out for perpetuating male toxicity in Kabir Singh as well as Animal.

Vanga appeared on Indian Idol 15 for an episode as a special guest. The conversation began when a contestant named Myscmme Bosu praised Sandeep’s Animal, following which she said that her fellow contestant Manasi had some contentions with the storyline. “I’ve tried to convince her about how Animal makes sense, but she’s not convinced. I want Sandeep Sir to explain it to her,” Myscmme said. Expressing her views, Manasi shared, "There’s this scene with ‘Mera joota chato,’ and I personally have a problem with it.”

To which Sandeep responded, "But that didn’t happen in the scene... You have a problem with the joota chato scene, but no problem with the hero killing 300 people?” “Yes, there is a problem,” Manasi said.

Debate heats up

At that point, Sandeep shared, "If Javed Ji wasn’t a lyricist or story writer, I’d take his words seriously.”

The conversation then went on Kabir Singh with the contestant sharing her own fear of getting into a toxic relationship. She asked Sandeep if he thought it is right for a couple to beat each other.

“I have said this many times and will say that again. It was their love. The point is that kuch seekhne ke liye films mat dekho (Don’t watch a film to learn something). Film ko sirf entertain hone ke liye dekho (Watch film to get entertained). And yeh woke lens hatao (And remove this woke lens)... Start watching content normally, there will always be people who will look for problems),” Sandeep said.

Following this, the contestant agreed with the filmmaker and walked off the stage.

About Animal and Kabir Singh

Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal was released in December last year. The film ignited a fierce debate upon its release, with critics and audiences divided over its portrayal of masculinity and violence. The Ranbir Kapoor-starrer went on to become a blockbuster, even after it was slammed for promoting male toxicity. It revolves around a troubled father-son relationship. It has Ranbir Kapoor in the role of Rannvijay Singh, who goes on to take revenge after there's an assassination attempt on his father. The film also stars Bobby Deol, Rashmika Mandanna, Triptii Dimri and Anil Kapoor in pivotal roles.

Meanwhile, Shahid Kapoor's Kabir Singh was released in 2019. While the film worked well at the box office, it was panned by critics for putting the spotlight on the toxicity of a relationship by showing a couple slapping each other. In Kabir Singh, Shahid played an aggressive lover. Kiara Advani was cast opposite him in the film.