Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s movie, ‘Animal’, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna in the lead role had taken the box office by storm but also managed to garner its share of criticism. Actor Siddharth, while talking about ‘Chithha’, his 2023 movie, indirectly criticized ‘Animal’. He didn’t mention the name of the film directly, instead used the Tamil version of it, ‘Mrugam’. 

Siddharth stated that several people told him that the 2023 movie was ‘disturbing’ to watch. ‘Chithha’ saw Siddharth, not only as an actor but also as its producer. The film spoke about the sensitive topic of child abuse and received a lot of critical acclaim. However, at the ‘JFW’ awards, Siddharth spoke about how men are reluctant to watch ‘Chithha’ because of shame and guilt but are ready to watch ‘Mirugam’. 

“No woman has ever approached me or Arun (Chithha director) and told us that they couldn’t watch the film or it was disturbing. But many men have admitted that to us. They said they won’t watch such kinds of movies. But, they can watch a film titled Mirugam, but my film was too disturbing for them. It’s not disturbance, it’s shame and guilt. It’s okay, it will soon change,'' Siddharth said.