Ranbir Kapoor's Animal postponed to December 1; director cites 'quality' reasons

Mumbai: The makers of "Animal" have pushed the release of the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer by four months due to "quality" reasons, said director Sandeep Reddy Vanga on Monday.

The crime drama, previously scheduled to hit the screens on August 11, will now open on December 1 countrywide in five languages — Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada.

By changing its release date, "Animal" has averted a box office clash with "OMG 2" and "Gadar 2". The film will now open alongside "Sam Bahadur".

Vanga, best known for the Telugu hit "Arjun Reddy" and its Hindi remake "Kabir Singh", shared the new release date on his Twitter page.

In a video statement, the director said mounting a pan-India release like "Animal" requires extensive post-production work.

"It might sound like a generic answer but the fact is only the quality. For example, there are seven songs in the film. When seven songs are multiplied into five languages, it becomes 35 songs. Thirty-five songs, different set of lyricists, different set singers.

"It's going to take a little more time than what I've actually planned for. I've lately realised (it) or else I won't have released the pre-teaser," the filmmaker said.

The pre-teaser was launched on June 11.

Vanga said he doesn't want "Animal" to appear like a dubbed film.

"For that we are taking time and there is no other reason. The right date what we have found is December 1. All I can promise is that we'll come with the best quality on December 1 in terms of video, audio, and everything," he further said.

Describing "Animal" as a "big film" rich in content and emotions, the director urged audiences to come to the theatres to see "Ranbir Kapoor's 'Vishwaroop'".

"Animal" also stars Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol and Rashmika Mandanna. It is produced by Bhushan Kumar's T-Series, Murad Khetani's Cine1 Studios and Pranay Reddy Vanga's Bhadrakali Pictures.