Animal: Rashmika Mandanna joins Ranbir Kapoor in director Sandeep Reddy Vanga's film

Rashmika Mandanna will soon be seen opposite Ranbir Kapoor in Animal, the upcoming film by Arjun Reddy/ Kabir Singh director Sandeep Reddy Vanga. 

The actor, who has starred in films like Kirik Party, Geetha Govindam and last year's Pushpa, has been cast as the female lead. Previously, Parineeti Chopra was attached to the film but quit to reportedly work with Imitiaz Ali on Chamkila, according to Koimoi. 

Before Animal, Mandanna will be seen in the espionage thriller Mission Majnu with Sidharth Malhotra, which is her Hindi feature debut. The film releases on May 13.

Animal is Vanga's second Hindi language directorial after the box-office hit Kabir Singh. The film, however, was criticised for perpetuating misogynistic tropes and encouraging violence against women. 

Not much is known about Animal except the cast that also features Anil Kapoor and Bobby Deol. However, recently, T-Series honcho Bhushan Kumar and the film's producer said that the title references the protagonist's personality traits. 

"We can expect to see a violent Ranbir Kapoor. I can't tell you more about the film. But it has Anil Kapoor, too and we are starting the film in April," Kumar recently told Times of India.

Animal is produced by T-Series, Pranay Reddy Vanga's Bhadrakali Pictures and Murad Khetani's Cine1 Studios. The film was earlier slated to release on Dusshera 2022, but will now be out in cinemas on August 11, 2023.

Meanwhile, Mandanna's other films include Goodbye with Amitabh Bachchan and Pushpa 2: The Rule with Allu Arjun.