It was a memorable evening for Tamil cinema fans on March 29 who got to witness the biggest stars lead the celebrations at the Galatta Golden Stars 2024 and blockbuster filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga was undoubtedly one of the major highlights of the star-studded event. The hit director, who tasted massive commercial success with his Bollywood film, Animal (2023), starring Ranbir Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, Bobby Deol, and Anil Kapoor, was honored with the 'Best Director - 2023' award, which was presented by Telugu superstar Vijay Deverakonda and Mr Eswar Rao, Founder and Managing Director of Max Gold.
Expressing his joy at receiving the big accolade at the Galatta Golden Stars 2024, Sandeep Reddy Vanga started off by saying, "I'm very happy to get the award from Vijay (Deverakonda). In a way, all of this started with Vijay. If Arjun Reddy didn't happen, Kabir Singh would not have happened. And, if Kabir Singh wasn't made, Animal would not exist. So, thank you Vijay and the jury." Vijay Deverakonda, who played the lead in the Animal director's filmmaking debut Arjun Reddy (2017), chimed in saying, "If anybody deserves this award, for me, it's Sandeep. I know how he works as a director from his writing. He will sit on every frame to edit because he loves his hero and he loves his actors, and he wants every minute expression to be perfect. How he sits on the background score, how he sits on the poster, how he sits on the trailer, I know he gave me one of the best films that I'm still remembered for, Arjun Reddy, in my career because of this passion and love for cinema and this love for me. I miss him loads and he deserves every award he receives for being a director."
We then see a recreation of a scene from Arjun Reddy at the Galatta Golden Stars 2024, with Sandeep Reddy Vanga calling the shots as the director and Vijay Deverakonda coming up with his performance. The evening also saw the leading Telugu actor deliver dialogues from his latest film, Family Star, and setting the stage at the Galatta Golden Stars 2024 for more celebrations. Sandeep, who has garnered a nationwide fan following with Animal after starting his career in South India, shared that he has achieved what he had written and executed, and mentioned about how the film going on to earn more than 1000 crores in collections is a big accomplishment for him.
Sandeep Reddy Vanga also went on to reveal that National Award-winning actor Suriya would fit the bill for Ranbir Kapoor's role in Animal in Tamil, while also talking about the film's sequel, Animal Park, saying it's "going to be wilder and bigger." Speaking about the shooting plans at the Galatta Golden Stars 2024, the hit filmmaker said, "2026 I'll start the film." In regard to whether there will be a Sandeep Cinematic Universe where characters from his films Arjun Reddy, Kabir Singh, Animal and his upcoming Spirit with Prabhas cross over, Sandeep said, "Never thought [about it], but it's interesting to see all four together like that. But, if anything strikes, I'll definitely do. For sure."
Watch Sandeep Reddy Vanga at the Galatta Golden Stars 2024 in the video below:
