Sandeep Reddy Vanga has been providing candid interviews attempting to normalize the misogyny present in his movies, like Kabir Singh and Animal.
Following Kiran Rao’s criticism of Sandeep Reddy Vanga for normalizing stalking and misogyny in his films, Vanga responded without directly naming her. He highlighted comments from a superstar’s second ex-wife and then accused Aamir Khan of portraying a near rape scene in one of his films.
“Hindi films have not been responsible enough, especially the way we project men and women. When we show something wrong in the films, we also show that the result of it is something positive. Which is wrong. And we often make the women an ‘item’ in films. Even the songs are like ‘tu cheez badi hai mast mast’. And even I am involved in this and I have done such films. ‘khambe jaisi khadi hai, ladki hai ya chadi hai.’ We are calling women ‘khamba’ but not humans. I am very ashamed of it.”
Sandeep Reddy Vanga failed to conduct proper research, overlooking Aamir Khan’s previous apology for objectifying heroines in Hindi films during an interview with Aaj Tak. Aamir acknowledged the issue of referring to women as ‘items’ in films, expressing shame for his involvement. He emphasized the irresponsible portrayal of men and women in Hindi films, calling for greater responsibility.
“Some people don’t understand what they are saying. One assistant director showed me the article from this superstar’s second ex-wife where she was saying that Baahubali and Kabir Singh promote misogyny, promote stalking. I think she doesn’t understand the difference between stalking and approaching.”