Why Your Boyfriend Loves 'Animal' More Than You

Walk into any Indian multiplex right now, and you'll witness something extraordinary. Dhurandhar, the latest Ranveer Singh spy thriller, is drawing housefull crowds in its second week. Before that, Pushpa 2 shattered every record imaginable, earning 1,800 crores worldwide and becoming 2024's highest-grossing Indian film. Animal made 915 crores in 2023. The pattern is unmistakable. These films, despite critics calling them "hyper-masculine cesspools" and "toxic propaganda," are printing money. So what's really going on here?

The 2024-2025 wave of hypermasculine cinema makes even Kabir Singh look tame. Dhurandhar features torture sequences and beheadings, with one politician defending it on Instagram with: "Don't call yourself peaceful unless you're capable of violence." Pushpa 2 shows its hero slapping a police officer in a temple, paying a woman for kisses, and solving problems through sheer brutality across its 200-minute runtime.
These aren't the angry young men of the 1970s who fought for justice. Those characters had causes. Today's heroes, as multiple critics note, rage for rage's sake. Their violence serves no larger purpose except establishing dominance. And audiences are eating it up.

Here's what happens when audiences watch these films. The darkness of cinema becomes a safe space for confronting uncomfortable truths, allowing people to grapple with darker emotions without confronting them in their own lives. It's catharsis through proxy.
Research shows that escapist behavior actually helps manage stress and encourages recovery from cognitive overload. When someone watches a hypermasculine protagonist dominate the screen, they're not zoning out—they're processing their own frustrations about life, relationships, and feeling powerless.


Three reasons explain the box office domination.

• First, identification. India remains deeply patriarchal, emphasizing male dominance and emotional stoicism. These films amplify those traits to superhero levels, offering viewers a fantasy of absolute power.
• Second, economic anxiety meets gender confusion. Young Indian men face brutal competition, family pressure, and uncertain futures. Traditional masculinity gave them a script to follow. Modern masculinity demands emotional intelligence they weren't taught. These films promise a simpler time when problems got solved with fists and women stayed silent.
• Third, the comfort of shared misogyny. In a nation divided by caste, religion, and class, what unites audiences? Films like these suggest the answer is a collective fantasy where women exist to serve and men exist to dominate. Pushpa 2 earned 162.9 million dollars largely from Hindi-dubbed versions, suggesting this appeal crosses linguistic boundaries.

Here's what nobody wants to admit. These films are dangerous. Not because of the violence, but because of what they normalize. When Kabir Singh kissed his love interest without consent on day one and the film made 100 crores in five days, it sent a message. When Animal's protagonist treated women as objects and young men called him the "asli mard" (real man) on social media, it taught a lesson.

The American Psychological Association research shows men adhering to traditionally dominant masculine norms experience higher rates of depression, stress, and substance abuse. Indian audiences consuming this content aren't just watching entertainment. They're absorbing behavioral templates. A 2024 analysis noted that Dhurandhar's violence differs from films like Kabir Singh or Animal. The spy thriller's gore serves narrative purposes in a fictional action world. But films showing everyday aggression, like slapping partners or controlling their clothing choices, are far more harmful because audiences can easily replicate those behaviors.

If these films are bad, how do you cope? Start by recognizing the manipulation. These movies are crafted to make violence look heroic and control look like love. They're not documentaries on how relationships work. For men consuming this content, ask yourself why you're drawn to it. Are you processing legitimate frustrations, or are you absorbing harmful templates for behavior? Consider balancing your media diet with films that show emotional complexity without violence. For women watching men in their lives obsess over these films, understand this isn't about you. It's often about economic anxiety, social pressure, and feeling powerless. The conversation shouldn't be about banning films but about creating space to discuss why they resonate.


Cinema doesn't just mirror society. It actively shapes it. When Pushpa 2 became the fastest film to cross 1,000 crores despite a stampede death at its premiere, when Dhurandhar hit 366 crores in two weeks despite mixed reviews, the market spoke clearly. This content sells. The question isn't whether these films will disappear. They won't. The question is whether we'll demand better while understanding why they exist. Because right now, every 200-crore opening weekend is a vote for this vision of masculinity. And we're all living with the consequences, one viral dialogue at a time.

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