Ram Gopal Varma Responds to SS Rajamouli’s Comparison During “Animal” Promotions

SS Rajamouli praised Sandeep Reddy Vanga at the Animal promotional event in Hyderabad, highlighting his penchant for challenging cinematic norms. Rajamouli acknowledged Vanga as one of the rare directors who takes risks capable of “shaking the industry.” In doing so, he drew a parallel with Ram Gopal Varma, another director known for breaking conventions in cinema. Ram Gopal Varma, upon learning of this commendation, humorously responded on X, sharing a clip of Rajamouli’s speech and feigning surprise at being mentioned.

In the Telugu clip, Rajamouli expressed, “Directors who truly shake things up are few and far between. After Ram Gopal Varma, the only director I’ve seen do that is Sandeep Reddy Vanga. I am proud of you, brother. I am really, really proud of you.” This declaration didn’t go unnoticed by Varma, who playfully remarked on social media.

Rajamouli, during the same event, proclaimed Ranbir Kapoor as his favorite actor and even posed a playful challenge to him, asking him to choose between working with Sandeep Reddy Vanga and himself. Ranbir, in response, opted for Vanga.

Notably, Ram Gopal Varma had previously praised Rajamouli when RRR received international acclaim and awards. He shared a video of Rajamouli’s conversation with Hollywood director James Cameron at the Critics’ Choice Award, where RRR won Best Foreign Language Film.

Animal, featuring Ranbir Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, Anil Kapoor, and Bobby Deol, is scheduled for release on December 1 in five languages—Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam.