Veteran filmmaker Suneel Darshan has claimed that the storyline of Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna, closely mirrors that of his 1999 action-drama Jaanwar, which featured Akshay Kumar in the lead.
In a recent interview with Bollywood Bubble, Darshan opened up about how several of his films have been imitated over the years and subtly pointed fingers at Animal for drawing heavy inspiration from Jaanwar.
When asked if he had any plans to remake his past films, Darshan responded, "Main kaise banaun? Meri filmon ki nakal itne log kar chuke hain. Ek film hai Jaanwar. Jaanwar ka English kya hota hai? Uski kahaani kaunsi hai? Aapne Animal dekhi hai na? Aapko pata hai na kaunsi kahaani hai?"
Comparing the core stories of the two films, he hinted that the resemblance was too strong to be coincidental. However, he added, "Lekin main claim nahi karta, kyunki us director ki treatment bahut anokhi thi, aur bahut achhe tareeke se usne us film ko treat kiya. But if the producer had acknowledged the truth, it would have been much better."
While Darshan refrained from directly accusing the makers of Animal of plagiarism, he did express disappointment that the original source material wasn’t acknowledged. “I thought it was better to stay silent, because somehow, there have been other films like this too, and they’ve been massive hits. I feel like I’m inspiring people. My cinema is continuing to inspire them, and those films are becoming huge blockbusters,” he said.
He further added, “There’s one hero, a very big star, who also did a film that’s very, very similar to mine. And the writer from whom they bought the story is also a very big name. That film too was a massive hit. So if you see the film, it's strangely very similar to my film.”
For context, Jaanwar (1999) told the story of a criminal who turns over a new leaf for the sake of an abandoned child he adopts. Akshay Kumar’s character undergoes a moral transformation, battling his violent past to build a better future.
Similarly, Animal followed a deeply emotional and violent father-son narrative, where Ranbir Kapoor’s character, raised under emotional neglect, seeks love and redemption while grappling with a dark and violent upbringing. Both films blend action, emotion, and the redemptive arc of a man torn between love and violence, making the comparisons even more pointed.
Neither Sandeep Reddy Vanga nor the makers of Animal have responded to Darshan’s remarks as of now.
