The year 2023 was huge for Bollywood, with many movies breaking box office records. It all started with Pathaan, helmed by director Siddharth Anand, which came out on January 25, 2023. Pathaan became the first Hindi film to earn over ₹1000 crore worldwide. By the end of the year, Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal also became a big hit, collecting ₹900 crore and becoming the highest-grossing A-rated film.
At the IIFA 2024 awards in Abu Dhabi, which took place from September 27 to 29, Animal won the Best Film award. But a tweet from Siddharth Anand has caused some debate online. Some people think he made a sarcastic comment about Animal’s win.
Director Siddharth Anand tweeted, “For me, the film of the year & the Director of the year? ANIMAL.” Some netizens thought this was a playful but indirect jab at Sandeep Reddy Vanga. The Reddit users took to the platform and one person commented, “Bro casually addressing Vanga as Animal.” Another referred to an earlier statement from director Siddharth Anand, where he explained why his movie Fighter (2024) didn’t do well, saying, “Many Indians haven’t flown in planes.” The user sarcastically added, “Yeah can’t give it FIGHTER; many people haven’t sat in a plane /s.”
Netizens were also quick to notice Director Sanjay Gupta had also shared his opinion on director Sandeep Reddy winning over actor Ranbir. He said, “Nothing will expose the hypocrisy of award shows more than the fact that they do not give Best Actor to Ranbir Kapoor and Best Director to Sandeep Reddy Vanga for Animal.”
It’s not clear if Siddharth Anand’s tweet was sincere praise or a subtle critique. While Animal won Best Film, the Best Director award went to Vidhu Vinod Chopra for 12th Fail. Meanwhile, Shah Rukh Khan had a great year, winning Best Actor for Jawan, making him the only actor to have two ₹1000 crore films in one year.
Whether it was a friendly comment or something more, Siddharth Anand’s tweet has sparked discussions among fans. Both Pathaan and Animal have made a big impact on Bollywood and this debate only adds to their success stories.
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