Siddhant Karnick is pleased with the way 2023 has turned out for him as an actor. First, he had a hit in the OTT space with Made in Heaven 2, and now, he’s earning praise for his portrayal of Varun Pratap Malhotra, brother-in-law to Ranbir Kapoor’s Ranvijay Singh in the latest blockbuster, Animal. While he is amused to be called the ‘jijaji one should never have’, he is thrilled to be told, ‘I hated you, but you were so good’. He enthuses, “These are the best kinds of compliments an actor can get.” 

Nearly three weeks since its December release, the Sandeep Reddy Vanga-directed action drama continues to polarise audiences even as it daily rakes in crores at the box office. Countering the oft-repeated notion that the film glorifies toxic masculinity, Siddhant says, “More than that, I feel the film has put across a dark character in a very stylised format. In no way are we indicating that there is glory in being a dark character, nor are we suggesting that people should be like Ranvijay. Since Animal is a stylised film, all traits including the darkness of the protagonist are stylised in keeping with the treatment of the narrative.”