Anil Kapoor responds to criticism around Animal: 'Father-son scenes with Ranbir Kapoor drew from personal experiences'
ETimes | May 12, 2026 4:39 AM CST
Anil Kapoor recently opened up about the criticism surrounding Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal and shared how deeply personal the father-son scenes in the film were for both him and co-star Ranbir Kapoor.
Speaking to The Indian Express, the actor said that while people can have different opinions about a film after release, the team approached the project with complete sincerity.
‘Nobody knows what discussions will happen after release’Reacting to the debates and criticism surrounding the film, Anil Kapoor said that as actors, their responsibility is to honestly portray the characters given to them.
“As an artist and actor, you do your best for the character and the role. Nobody really knows before release what discussions or criticism will happen later,” he said.
The actor added that the team worked very sincerely on the emotional core of the film, especially the complicated father-son relationship shown between his and Ranbir Kapoor’s characters.
Anil Kapoor says father-son scenes drew from personal experiencesTalking about the emotionally intense scenes in the film, Anil revealed that both he and Ranbir drew heavily from their own real-life experiences and family relationships.
“We dug a lot into our personal experiences. Ranbir’s relationship with his father, my relationship with my son, and my relationship with my father — all those dynamics came into the scenes,” he shared.
He further explained that while the dialogues may have been written differently, the emotional angst behind the scenes was very real for both actors.
“The lines may have been different, but the emotions underneath were extremely real for both of us,” he added.
‘Those slaps and confrontations were discussed in detail’Anil Kapoor also spoke about the controversial confrontation scenes between the father and son in the film, including the aggressive collar-grabbing and slapping moments.
He revealed that many of those scenes were heavily improvised during discussions between him, Ranbir Kapoor and director Sandeep Reddy Vanga.
“Usually actors say, ‘Don’t hit too hard, just one slap.’ But here the thought process was different. We discussed how angry a father in that situation would realistically be,” he explained.
According to the actor, the emotional intensity of the scenes came from those conversations and improvisations during rehearsals.
“Ranbir, the director and I would sit together and discuss all the dynamics. Credit goes to the director for taking the best out of those discussions,” he said.
‘The collar-grabbing was definitely real’When asked whether the physical confrontations in the film were real, Anil admitted that some portions were authentic, though exaggerated for cinematic impact.
“In films there is always some exaggeration for drama. One or two slaps may happen in reality, but cinema makes it more dramatic,” he shared.
However, he clarified that certain physical moments, especially the aggressive grabbing during confrontations, were performed realistically.
“But yes, the collar-grabbing was definitely real,” he added.
Speaking to The Indian Express, the actor said that while people can have different opinions about a film after release, the team approached the project with complete sincerity.
‘Nobody knows what discussions will happen after release’Reacting to the debates and criticism surrounding the film, Anil Kapoor said that as actors, their responsibility is to honestly portray the characters given to them.
“As an artist and actor, you do your best for the character and the role. Nobody really knows before release what discussions or criticism will happen later,” he said.
The actor added that the team worked very sincerely on the emotional core of the film, especially the complicated father-son relationship shown between his and Ranbir Kapoor’s characters.
Anil Kapoor says father-son scenes drew from personal experiencesTalking about the emotionally intense scenes in the film, Anil revealed that both he and Ranbir drew heavily from their own real-life experiences and family relationships.
“We dug a lot into our personal experiences. Ranbir’s relationship with his father, my relationship with my son, and my relationship with my father — all those dynamics came into the scenes,” he shared.
He further explained that while the dialogues may have been written differently, the emotional angst behind the scenes was very real for both actors.
“The lines may have been different, but the emotions underneath were extremely real for both of us,” he added.
‘Those slaps and confrontations were discussed in detail’Anil Kapoor also spoke about the controversial confrontation scenes between the father and son in the film, including the aggressive collar-grabbing and slapping moments.
He revealed that many of those scenes were heavily improvised during discussions between him, Ranbir Kapoor and director Sandeep Reddy Vanga.
“Usually actors say, ‘Don’t hit too hard, just one slap.’ But here the thought process was different. We discussed how angry a father in that situation would realistically be,” he explained.
According to the actor, the emotional intensity of the scenes came from those conversations and improvisations during rehearsals.
“Ranbir, the director and I would sit together and discuss all the dynamics. Credit goes to the director for taking the best out of those discussions,” he said.
‘The collar-grabbing was definitely real’When asked whether the physical confrontations in the film were real, Anil admitted that some portions were authentic, though exaggerated for cinematic impact.
“In films there is always some exaggeration for drama. One or two slaps may happen in reality, but cinema makes it more dramatic,” he shared.
However, he clarified that certain physical moments, especially the aggressive grabbing during confrontations, were performed realistically.
“But yes, the collar-grabbing was definitely real,” he added.
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