At Monday night's promotional event for Animal in Hyderabad, superstar Mahesh Babu showered praise on lead actor Ranbir Kapoor, hailing him as the 'Best actor in India.' Dressed casually, Mahesh expressed his fandom for Ranbir, calling him the best in the country. “I have told him before when I met him but I don't think he took that seriously. I am a huge Ranbir Kapoor fan, and in my opinion, he is the best actor in India,” the Guntur Kaaram actor said.
Ranbir, visibly touched, later reciprocated the admiration, recalling Mahesh as the first superstar he ever met and expressing gratitude for his support, saying, “You were the first superstar Mahesh Babu I ever met. I remember messaging him after watching Okkadu, and he replied, I can't thank you enough for supporting me, sir.”
Fans celebrated the mutual admiration on social media, with one stating that Mahesh's words were the greatest honour any Bollywood star could receive. One user said, "The words coming from Mahesh Babu to Ranbir is the greatest honour any Bollywood star has never gotten. So proud." Another fan gushed,”"Being a massive fan of Ranbir Kapoor is like being on cloud nine! He is undoubtedly the ultimate Rockstar of Indian cinema. But hey, let's also not forget the incredible talent of Superstar! These two legends have conquered our hearts and the silver screen.”
At the event, Ranbir also touched filmmaker SS Rajamouli's feet, who proclaimed Ranbir as his favourite actor. The RRR director playfully challenged Ranbir to choose between working with Sandeep Reddy Vanga and himself, to which Ranbir chose Vanga.
During the Chennai promotional event, Ranbir explained the title Animal, stating that the character behaves on instinct, much like an animal. The film, directed by Sandeep, features Ranbir, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, and Rashmika Mandanna in lead roles. The trailer hinted at Ranbir's fierce character due to an abusive upbringing. Scheduled for a December 1 release, Animal will hit theatres in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam.