The screen-violence debate is back, and Sandeep Reddy Vanga is not letting it pass quietly. After a chainsaw attack in Andhra Pradesh, social media users began pointing at A-rated action films, including Animal, Marco and Dhurandhar, as dangerous blueprints for real-world violence. Vanga responded on X on Wednesday.
What Vanga said
Vanga rejected the idea that cinema should be the first accused. His post argued that a heinous crime demands empathy and an attempt to understand the larger problem, not a convenient scapegoat in cinema.
When someone commits a heinous crime, the first response should be empathy & an attempt to understand the larger problem. Not finding a convenient scapegoat in cinema.
He added that the criticism is “not for the victims or their families” and instead uses “a horrific tragedy as a dirty excuse to settle your personal scores.” The sharpest line was aimed at people he called “failed, frustrated, jobless male/female actors, few directors, producers & parasites” who appoint themselves social reformers whenever another filmmaker’s work can be attacked.
Ram Gopal Varma joins the defence
Vanga was not alone. Ram Gopal Varma posted his own response to the same criticism, writing that “blaming films for rise in violence is like, blaming Ramayana for rise in kidnappings.”
Why Vanga keeps returning to this fight
Vanga has spent his career making intense, morally messy films, so he is a natural target in this argument. The filmography that built his reputation:
- Arjun Reddy (2017): Telugu debut with Vijay Deverakonda; a hit and a controversy starter.
- Kabir Singh (2019): the Hindi remake with Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani, commercially strong and widely debated over masculinity and relationships.
- Animal: starring Ranbir Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol and Triptii Dimri; crossed ₹900 crore worldwide while drawing criticism for graphic violence, misogyny and toxic masculinity.
- Spirit: his next, with Prabhas and Triptii Dimri, now set for October 29, 2027 after an earlier March 2027 slot.
The takeaway for fans
For Hindi cinema fans, the useful lesson is not to ignore real concerns about screen violence, but to keep blame precise. Vanga’s position is that empathy should lead, and that a tragedy should not become an excuse to settle directorial rivalries. When a crime occurs, ask what actually happened before turning a film poster into the culprit.
What comes next
Vanga’s next film, Spirit, stars Prabhas and Triptii Dimri and was originally planned for March 2027. It is now scheduled for October 29, 2027. As that date approaches, this debate will almost certainly heat up again.
Source: Hindustan Times