Vikas Divyakirti, who is well known for helping UPSC aspirants with his tips and tricks, was seen as himself in the 2023 Vikrant Massey-starrer 12th Fail. In a new episode of Be A Man Yaar podcast, he was asked about toxic masculinity prevailing in society and the lack of empathy amid the box office success of films like Ranbir Kapoor's Animal (2023). He also slammed the film's problematic ‘lick my shoe’ scene, explaining why it was ‘inhuman’.

‘Hum jungle se bohot aage nikal chuke hain’

He said, "Animal film ka jo character hai, usko apne alpha male hone pe bada gurur hai. Acha alpha male wala concept human society pe apply nahi hota hai, yeh animals pe, wolves pe apply hota hai basically. Hum jungle se bohot aage nikal chuke hain, jo jungle mein ruke huye hai who alpha male ban ne ke chakkar mein hai aur hum aur janwar mein kuch toh antar bacha ke rakhan padega (Ranbir's Animal character is so proud of being an alpha male, but this concept belongs to animals, wolves, not humans. People who still run after it belong in the jungle. There should be some distinction left between us and animals)."

On how toxic masculinity ‘hampers’ men

He said that broadly speaking, the concept of masculine now revolves around looks – how tall you are, how tough you look, whether you sport a moustache and beard or not.

He added, "Phir aap mahilaon se nafrat karne lagenge, distance maintain kar lenge ya unhe sirf object ki tarah treat karenge. Usse ye kehna ki 'Mera joota lick karo' kitna inhuman hai. Kya bachta hai iske baad rishte mein? Toxic masculinity ka sabse bada nuksaan us admi ke saath hota hai ki duniya mein ek bhi vyakti nahi bachta jo usse pyaar kare. Uski patni, uski ma, uski beti usse pyaar nahi kar paate, darte hain. Agar aap se log darte hain aur aap isme khush hai toh yeh ek gadhapan hai (Then you start hating on women, or distancing yourself from them or treating them as mere objects. Animal's 'lick my shoe' line was inhuman, what is left in a relationship after you say that? Toxic masculinity hampers men who are no longer loved by their wives, mothers and daughters. And if they like being feared over being loved, they are stupid)."

More about the 'lick my shoe' scene

In a widely discussed scene from the Sandeep Reddy Vanga directorial, Ranbir’s character Rannvijay Singh aka Vijay asks Triptii Dimri’s Zoya Riaz to lick his shoes to prove that she truly loves him, after she is revealed to be a mole. It is one of the many scenes from Animal, which have been receiving backlash on social media.

Speaking about it, Triptii had said in 2023 interview with The Indian Express, “It reminded me of what my acting coach had told me, the golden rule: Never judge your character. The characters you are playing, the character your co-actor is playing, all are human and humans have good and bad side. An actor must be prepared to play characters across the spectrum of good, bad and ugly, but if you judge a character’s motivations, thoughts, you won’t be able to play it with honesty. So that’s what I kept in mind.”

Animal also features Rashmika Mandanna, Bobby Deol and Anil Kapoor in key roles. The film, which was released in five languages – Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada – on December 1, did very well at the box office despite facing criticism for promoting toxic masculinity and its storyline and characters being anti-women.

Read Also: Byeon Woo Seok, Kim Hye Yoon, Seventeen's BSS and other favourites crowned winners at Seoul Drama Awards 2024

HOW DID YOU LIKE THIS ARTICLE? CHOOSE YOUR EMOTICON !