Sandeep Reddy Vanga on 'Arjun Reddy' impact: "My phone was jammed with messages"

Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga's debut film 'Arjun Reddy' starring Vijay Deverakonda turned out to be a blockbuster when it was released. Recently the filmmaker shared that the release of 'Arjun Reddy' was a career-defining moment for him.
Speaking on trade analyst Komal Nahta's Game Changers podcast, the 'Animal' director shared how the success of the film's teaser and its subsequent impact marked a turning point for him and lead actor Vijay Deverakonda.
The 43-year-old director revealed that the teaser of the film was released on February 14, 2017. He recalled how he and Vijay Deverakonda launched it together, pressing the upload button on his laptop. " So, at 7 o'clock, we released the teaser. Vijay and I literally pressed the button together on my laptop", he said.
Within hours, his phone was flooded with messages, which led him to feel that something extraordinary was going to happen. According to Vanga, the teaser's reception was so overwhelming that it felt like a bigger movement than the film itself.
He said, "After 1-2 hours, my phone was jammed with messages. That day, we felt this film was going somewhere. The teaser was a bigger movement than the film itself because we saw the effect of the teaser release was more than expected."

'Arjun Reddy' tells the story of a high-functioning alcoholic surgeon grappling with anger issues and heartbreak after his girlfriend marries someone else. The film's raw intensity and flawed protagonist was highly appreciated by the audiences, despite mixed opinions about its themes of toxic masculinity and substance abuse.
The film was later remade in Hindi as 'Kabir Singh', directed by Vanga himself and starring Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani. The Bollywood adaptation became one of the highest-grossing Hindi films.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga last directed the Ranbir Kapoor starrer 'Animal' which was a blockbuster collecting over Rs 900 crore worldwide.
He is now focused on the upcoming film 'Spirit' starring Rebel Star Prabhas where he will be playing a cop.