I am surprised with Rashmika Mandanna’s lack of nomination in Filmfare Awards for Animal: Sandeep Reddy Vanga

Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal has won a lot of spots at the Filmfare Awards 2024. However, the female lead of the movie, Rashmika Mandanna, did not even secure a nomination. The lack of nominations has surprised Sandeep Reddy Vanga.

While speaking in an interview with Siddharth Kanna, Sandeep Reddy Vanga expressed his astonishment at Rashmika’s absence from the Best Actress nominations. “It is not an easy performance, what I believed. She was giggling, laughing. She is going mad. That was not easy. It is an 11 minute scene. She was holding the scene,” he said.

Meanwhile, he also revealed that he doesn’t “believe in awards”. The director added that he attended Filmfare mainly to support the cast and crew. “Genuinely, I don’t believe in awards and all. But I went because 19 nominations hai and the entire team was there. So why should there be an absentee director there?” he further said.

Earlier, the movie maker defended the actress when netizens trolled Rashmika Mandanna for a scene from the trailer showed the actress clenching her teeth while delivering dialogue. Addressing the event to India Today, he said, “She was supposed to speak in a particular way because it’s a very emotional scene. I knew there would be a certain reaction to it. When someone is feeling a certain emotion, then they speak with their teeth clenched. I think keeping it in the trailer has only given it multiple views. When you see it as part of the larger scene in the movie, it will make more sense.”

Released in December, 2023, Animal featured Ranbir Kapoor in lead. Anil Kapoor, Triptii Dimri, Bobby Deol, and Shakti Kapoor were also casted in the box office hit film. In Filmfare Awards 2024, the movie clinched five trophies, including Best Actor to Best Background Score and Best Sound Design.