Does Sandeep Reddy Vanga Agree That Animal Influenced the Andhra School Attack?

Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga has responded to criticism linking his film Animal to the recent chainsaw attack on a schoolgirl in Andhra Pradesh. The filmmaker took an indirect dig at YouTuber Dhruv Rathee and others who blamed films like Animal and Dhurandhar for influencing violent behaviour.

The controversy started after a shocking incident at a school in Andhra Pradesh. Following the attack, several social media users questioned whether violent scenes in films could encourage people to commit similar crimes.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga shared his views on social media without directly naming anyone. He said that the first response to such a tragic incident should be empathy for the victims and their families. He also stressed the need to understand the real reasons behind such crimes instead of blaming cinema.

The director criticised people who, according to him, were using the tragedy to target filmmakers and settle personal scores. He also took a dig at actors, directors and producers who suddenly present themselves as social reformers when they get an opportunity to criticise another filmmaker.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga said that a tragedy should be treated with empathy rather than used for personal attacks.

The controversy began after YouTuber Dhruv Rathee shared a report about the Andhra Pradesh school attack. He criticised films like Animal and Dhurandhar, suggesting that such movies could provide ideas to criminals.

His comments received mixed reactions online. Some people agreed with Rathee and questioned the way violence is shown in films. Others defended the filmmakers, saying that fictional stories should not be directly blamed for real-life crimes.

Rathee had earlier criticised Animal and Dhurandhar in his videos. His latest comments brought the debate back into the spotlight.

On October 31, 2026, a 21-year-old man allegedly entered a classroom at Zilla Parishad High School in Raptadu, Anantapur district, and attacked a Class 10 student with a mechanised chainsaw.

The accused identified as Hemanth allegedly attacked the girl, Gopika after she rejected his advances. She suffered serious injuries, while another student was also injured while trying to protect her.

Meanwhile since then lot of debate is going on social media regarding increasing violence in movies and finally many directors are addressing this issue.