Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal may have turned out to be one of the most talked-about and commercially successful films of 2023, but the filmmaker still carries a tinge of regret when it comes to its final cut. In a candid revelation he had with his Arjun Reddy actor Vijay Deverakonda and director of his upcoming film Kingdom Gowtam Tinnanuri , Vanga admitted that he was pressured into trimming the film’s runtime just days before its theatrical release, and he continues to feel the loss of moments that didn’t make it to the big screen.Speaking about the process, the Kabir Singh and Arjun Reddy director shared,“What happened was, the first cut of Animal was 3 hours and 45 minutes, and the next cut—my satisfactory cut—was 3 hours and 30 minutes I came under pressure seven days before release, I edited out like seven minutes.”While the theatrical version of Animal was still over three hours long, the director said that watching it in theatres for a week made him realise what he had sacrificed in those final few minutes.“It was a good cut,” he admitted, “but I regret it.”The Ranbir Kapoor-starrer was known for its intense emotional core, stylized violence, and complex father-son dynamics, all of which struck a chord with audiences and sparked countless debates online. Yet for Vanga, a few more scenes could have offered an even deeper exploration of the film’s themes.As for redemption, the filmmaker revealed he had hoped to revisit his original vision when preparing Animal’s release for Netflix.“I wanted to add seven more minutes to the Netflix version. Even if I didn’t finish it in 3.45, I finished it in 3.30,” he said. “I regret that a lot.”But when the film was released on the OTT platform it was exactly the same length as it’s theatrical release. Animal turned out to a major turning point for everyone involved in the film from Ranbir Kapoor to Bobby Deol to Triptii Dimri. The film minted over Rs 550 crore at the box office and it’s sequel Animal Park is one of the keenly anticipated film which is expected to release in 2027.
