Sandeep Reddy Vanga was told to go to Bollywood by Telugu producers: This kind of boldness…

Sandeep Reddy Vanga's recently released movie Animal has become a major success despite initial criticism and its controversial content. The action thriller marks Vanga’s third directorial film and stars Ranbir Kapoor in the lead alongside Rashmika Mandanna, Triptii Dimri, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol and Shakti Kapoor.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga was snubbed by Telugu producers

Pranay Reddy Vanga, Sandeep's brother and co-producer of Animal in a recent interview has revealed some unheard aspects of Sandeep's journey in the film industry. Pranay shared with Pinkvilla that when Sandeep was attempting to secure his first Telugu film, his bold and unconventional ideas were deemed too risky for the Telugu cinema industry.

Producers advised him to explore Bollywood, where his audacious storytelling might find a more receptive audience. Sandeep, fresh from film school in Australia, initially faced challenges adapting his storytelling style to the expectations of Telugu producers.

According to Pranay, Sandeep's ideas were considered beyond the belief system of local producers, prompting the suggestion to shift to Bollywood. He quoted, “Some guy said that you better go to Bollywood because this kind of boldness won’t work here”. Fearlessly, the Vanga family invested their own funds into the Telugu film Arjun Reddy, a gamble that paid off tremendously when the film became a hit.

However, when it came to remaking the film in Hindi as Kabir Singh, local directors in Mumbai were hesitant to take on the project.

Recalling the situation, Pranay mentioned, “They were trying with local directors over here (Mumbai) but no one was interested in directing this movie. Then Shahid forced the producers to bring the original director. That’s when he came.”

Shahid Kapoor played the lead role in the Hindi remake of Arjun Reddy which eventually turned out to be a blockbuster. Interestingly, even after the success of Kabir Singh, Sandeep initially had no plans to pursue a career in Hindi cinema and returned to Hyderabad. It was only after a call from Bhushan Kumar that he reconsidered and began planning Animal for the Hindi audience.