Jaanwar Director Suneel Darshan Accuses Ranbir's Animal Of Being A Copy Of Akshay Starrer

Filmmaker Suneel Darshan who is known for helming hit films like Ajay (1996), Jaanwar (1999) and Ek Rishtaa - The Bond Of Love (2001) is now making a comeback to direction with Andaaz 2, a sequel to his 2003 hit production Andaaz.

The filmmaker who is currently busy promoting his upcoming film was asked in a recent interview if he’d like to remake any of his films in today’s time and responded that he can’t because one of his films has already been remade unofficially several times.

Jaanwar Director Suneel Darshan Accuses Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal of Plagiarism

Suneel Darshan stated that his 1999 film Jaanwar has already been remade as the 2023 blockbuster Animal.

© Shree Krishna International

He told Bollywood Bubble, “Main kaise banaoon? Meri filmon ki nakal itne log kar chuke hain. Ek film hai Jaanwar. Jaanwar ka English kya hota hai? Uski kahaani kaunsi hai? Aapne Animal dekhi hai na? Aapko pata hai na kaunsi kahaani hai? Lekin main claim nahi karta, kyunki us director ki treatment bahut anokhi thi, aur bahut achche tareeke se usne us film ko treat kiya. But if the producer had acknowledged the truth, it would have been much better (How do I make films now? So many people have already copied my work. There’s a film called Jaanwar. What is the English word for Jaanwar? What’s the story of that film? You’ve seen Animal, right? You know which story I’m talking about. But I don’t make any claims, because the director’s treatment was very unique, and he handled the film very well).”

He added, “I thought it was better to stay silent, because somehow, there have been other films like this too, and they’ve been massive hits. I feel like I’m inspiring people. My cinema is continuing to inspire them, and those films are becoming huge blockbusters. There’s one hero, a very big star, who also did a film that’s very, very similar to mine. And the writer from whom they bought the story is also a very big name. That film too was a massive hit. So if you see the film, it's strangely very similar to my film.”

© T-Series

About Jaanwar & Animal

Released in 1999, Jaanwar marked Akshay Kumar’s comeback at the box office after a series of flops in a row. The film also starring Karisma Kapoor and Shilpa Shetty is about a professional hitman who retires after coming across a seemingly abandoned child. He reforms himself and becomes an ironsmith while raising the child.

His life takes a turn for the worse when his criminal past comes knocking and the child’s parents too resurface.

On the other hand, Animal is about a man’s obsessive love towards his father and he goes to lengths to avenge the attack on him by a distant and estranged relative.

As one can see, besides the titles, there is literally no similarity between the two films as claimed by Suneel Darshan. We wonder which Animal he watched?

Suneel Darshan is now returning to the big screen with Andaaz 2 releasing in theatres on August 8, 2025.