Sunny Deol would love to work in a film like Animal, but ‘the director and producer need to have guts to do it with me’
Actor Sunny Deol, who was promoting his upcoming film Jaat, was asked if he would want to be cast in film like Animal starring Ranbir Kapoor and Bobby Deol
Actor-filmmaker Sunny Deol, with a career spanning over three decades, is one of the most versatile actors in the country. Yet, at 67, Sunny feels that despite his extensive experience, directors and producers hesitate to offer him certain characters.
While promoting his upcoming film Jaat in Mumbai on Monday, Sunny was asked about his interest in portraying roles similar to those in Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal, which featured his younger brother, Bobby Deol, in a negative role alongside Ranbir Kapoor. Sunny responded affirmatively, expressing his eagerness to embrace such roles as an actor.
"I'd love to play that role as an actor. I won't call it negative, I will call it a character and definetely, I would love to do that. I will not say a not it. But then, the director and the producer need to have the guts to cast me in something like that. They will say that audiences won't accept me in such a role, and that's where I get stuck," he said during the press conference.
In 2023, reflecting on Animal, Sunny had previously disclosed that he left the theatre during a scene where Bobby's character, Abrar Haq, was being beaten by Ranbir Kapoor's character, Ranvijay Singh. He found the depiction distressing and felt compelled to exit, unable to endure watching his brother's character suffer on screen.
"I watched it, but… Animal is a great film, it’s a nice film. People are loving it. I’ll have my bits and pieces about any film, even my films. That’s me, it ain’t gonna change. But I’m not going to talk about it… When I saw Bobby being killed, I just got out of the seat and I couldn’t take it. I just wanted to go out and do something," he had said in an interview with NDTV.
Animal, directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga and released in December 2023, sparked considerable debate upon its release. The film was criticised for its portrayal of toxic masculinity and perceived misogynistic themes. Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar and others voiced concerns about the film's gender politics, drawing parallels to Sandeep's earlier work, Kabir Singh. Despite the controversy, lead actor Ranbir Kapoor defended the film, stating that it initiated a "healthy" discourse about toxic masculinity. He argued that the film's narrative was misunderstood and that it aimed to shed light on complex societal issues.
