Triptii Dimri reveals the controversial ‘lick my shoe’ scene in Animal was shaped after several discussions with Ranbir Kapoor and Sandeep Reddy Vanga: “An actor must be prepared…”

Triptii Dimri had her breakout moment in 2018 with Imtiaz Ali’s Laila Majnu, but she hasn’t had a theatrical release up until Animal. In between, she had two Netflix releases – Bulbbul and Qala – that brought her into the spotlight as one of the prominent stars in the new lot of actors. With Animal, she has risen to fame and even her limited screen time has given a lot of boost.

Speaking to Indian Express, Triptii Dimri said, “This was my theatrical film after so long. I had forgotten how it feels to look at yourself on the big screen. Animal reminded me of that. Of course, a big theatrical film comes with its own impact, it reaches a different, perhaps wider audience. So many people who discovered me in Animal have now gone back and watched Bulbbull and Qala. That’s precisely the dream of an actor, that their work should be discovered by newer audiences.”

Talking about the social media chatter and her rapidly increasing numbers on social media, she added, “The first day there wasn’t much that was said about me so I was like, ‘Ok, that happens. I did my best but at least people are liking the film.’ But slowly the tide changed, people started talking and now it hasn’t stopped!”

With the praises came the polarizing reviews about the portrayal of women, and misogyny in the film which Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s last film Kabir Singh was also scrutinized for. However, Triptii admits that the scene ‘lick my shoe’ that everyone’s been talking about on the internet was thoroughly discussed between her, Ranbir and Vanga. “It reminded me of what my acting coach had told me, the golden rule: Never judge your character. The characters you are playing, the character your co-actor is playing, all are human and humans have good and bad side. An actor must be prepared to play characters across the spectrum of good, bad and ugly, but if you judge a character’s motivations, and thoughts, you won’t be able to play it with honesty. So that’s what I kept in mind,” she said.

She added, “I also thought that here was a woman who talks about killing his wife, father, kids, the entire family…. If someone tells me that, I will perhaps beat that person! Here, he does ask her to do that (lick his shoe) but also walks away later. He clearly is going through a lot of these (intense thoughts). Later when his cousins ask her what they should do with me, he says ‘Let her go wherever she wants to.’”

Animal was released on December 1, 2023. Next up, Triptii Dimri has Dharma Productions’ next with Vicky Kaushal, set for February 23, 2024 release. ALSO READ: Raj Mehta reviews Animal; calls Ranbir Kapoor starrer ‘game changer’