Ranbir Kapoor’s highly anticipated film, Animal, hit theatres today. Interestingly, the film almost had Parineeti Chopra in the lead role before Rashmika Mandanna took the part.

Directed and written by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, the film is produced by T-Series, Bhadrakali Pictures, and Cine1 Studios. It also stars Anil Kapoor and Bobby Deol. The premise of Animal revolves around a strained relationship between a father and a son, where the violent nature of the underworld compels the son to turn into a psychopath.

Parineeti Chopra was to star as female lead in Animal

The role of Geetanjali Singh in Animal was earlier given to Parineeti Chopra. The film was first announced back in 2021, with Parineeti Chopra’s name attached to it. However, the actress reportedly walked out of the project as she was busy filming Imtiaz Ali’s Amar Singh Chamkila with Diljit Dosanjh.

According to reports, “She has to get into prep immediately for the shoot (of Chamkila), and unfortunately, due to this development, she won’t be able to shoot for Animal as there is a major overlap of dates between the two films.”

However, another report claims that the director did not find Parineeti a suitable fit during the trial shoots. After Rashmika Mandanna’s announcement as the lead, Parineeti shared in an interview, “These things happen; it is part and parcel of life. We must make such choices every day. You make the choice that is right for you.”

At a recent event, director Sandeep Vanga Reddy talked about Rashmika’s role as Geetanjali in Animal. He said that she is someone who understands the protagonist better than his parents and that the character is different and very important throughout the film.

Animal received an ‘A’ rating from The Central Board of Film Certification and has a three-and-a-half-hour runtime. It is available in five languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.

Watch Animal in theatres now.