Hyderabad: Animal, the highly anticipated film starring Ranbir Kapoor, is getting ready for its January 26, 2024, Republic Day, digital premiere on OTT. The Sandeep Reddy Vanga directorial hit theatres on December 1, 2023, and went on to mint Rs 550 crore in net revenue in India and an astounding Rs 900 crore worldwide. Now, in order to reach a wider audience, the film will be accessible on Netflix in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.
This comes after co-producers T series and CINE 1 Studios Private Limited settled their disagreement. They were involved in a legal battle over purported contract violations. Both sides disclosed their agreement to the Delhi High Court. Their resolution makes it possible for the movie to be released on Netflix.
Earlier, the OTT launch was pushed back by CINE 1 Studios. They said that T series, which is another name for Super Cassettes Industries Private Limited, had broken the agreement. Certain rights and equal ownership were specified in the agreement and allegedly, T series disregarded these terms. The contentious issues included unapproved film releases, production and promotional expenses, and inadequate consultation.
However, with the dispute having been resolved, Netflix will show an expanded version of the Bollywood, according to multiple media sources. In a previous interview, the director expressed his remorse over removing approximately 8 to 10 minutes from the film for its theatrical distribution. Reediting the film for Netflix was another thing he discussed.
It appears that the scenes that were previously cut out will be included in the OTT version. Prior to the film's theatrical release, a report surfaced stating that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) requested that close-up shots of intimate scenes between Ranbir and Tripti Dimri's characters be removed. Given that Netflix releases are independent of CBFC, it will be fascinating to watch the version available on Netflix.
