After Bawaal, Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal to have Nazi reference? Leaked photo sparks rumours

Ranbir Kapoor is currently working on his upcoming film Animal. The flick is touted to be a gangster drama. It is slated to hit the theatres in December. Now, Animal is in the limelight for an unexpected reason.

2 things you need to know 

• Animal also stars Rashmika Mandanna and Bobby Deol in major roles. 
• The film is directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga. 

Animal leaked photos feature Hitler salute

A photo from the set of Animal is currently doing the rounds on the Internet. In the monochrome picture, a few men can be seen standing in front of a Swastika.  Some felt it was the Nazi insignia called Haukenkrauz or Hooker Cross. This happened because two men in the photo were seen with their arms lifted in front of them. This looked like the gesture of the Nazi Salute, also called the  "Hail Hitler" gesture. It was a standard greeting practice during the Nazi dictatorship.

(Leaked photos from the set of Animal | Image: Twitter)

Netizens strongly reacted to the Nazi connection. One of the internet users commented on the post, “The swastika is Indian but they’re also saluting in a similar way which is what's off.” Another one added, “Depends on how it is portrayed…i do not think they’ll glorify it.”

A social media user penned, “The swastika is Hindu but they are fully Nazi saluting wtf! There might be a chance this is just people having fun BTS and it’s not in actual movie.” Another comment read, “It’s Sandeep Vanga. Do you really think the man is gonna change anything?”

Another Bawaal on the cards?

This comes after Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor starrer Bawaal was embroiled in a similar controversy. It received severe backlash on social media over its depiction of World War II and Holocaust scenes. Netizens called Nitesh Tiwari's directorial "insensitive" and expressed disappointment over the misrepresentation and trivialisation of one of "history's gravest atrocities".

One of the most debatable aspects of the film was a dialogue comparing relationship problems to the monstrosity of Auschwitz. Nisha (Janhvi Kapoor) translates a Holocaust survivor's dialogue to Ajju (Varun Dhawan). "Har rishta apne apne Auschwitz se guzarta hai," loosely translates to "every relationship goes through its Auschwitz." This sequence was criticised for trivialising a tragedy.