4 min readMumbaiJul 23, 2026 08:01 AM IST
Adil Hussain has maintained that he regrets being a part of Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s 2019 blockbuster romantic drama Kabir Singh. He played the college dean in the film starring Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani. He also claimed that he wouldn’t agree to do a film like Vanga’s 2023 blockbuster family crime drama Animal, starring Ranbir Kapoor, even if he was paid Rs 200 crore.
Adil Hussain on getting ‘paid really well’
In an exclusive interview with Screen, Adil admits that he considers himself deeply fortunate that he’s never been out of work. Moreover, a steady supply of acting offers from different languages, countries, and platforms has helped him be financially secure enough to say no to mainstream cinema that may pay well, but doesn’t sit well with his moral compass, like Animal.
“I’m one of the luckiest actors who’ve been offered roles from different parts of the country and the world. And from the mainstream genre as well,” says Adil. “I’m part of Operation Safed Sagar, Netflix India’s most expensive shows. So, they paid me really well. Another show, also releasing on July 24, is Musafir Cafe. They paid me very well too,” he adds.
It’s a busy month for Adil, with three projects lined up. He’ll first be seen in Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy’s slice-of-life indie Max, Min & Meowzaki, which is slated to release in cinemas this Friday on July 24. He’s maintained that he often uses his hefty pay from mainstream projects to “subsidize” his involvement in indie films.
So, releasing alongside the indie is a Netflix India romantic show, Ruchir Arun’s Musafir Cafe, headlined and produced by Vikrant Massey. Following that, he’ll play Air Marshal Vinod Patney in Netflix India’s ambitious period war drama Operation Safed Sagar, set during the Kargil War, which will release on the platform on August 7.
“When I say ‘paid very well’, maybe I’m being paid very little in comparison to other people. But maybe I’ve created my life in such a way that I can sustain. I’m very happy about that,” says Adil. The actor, who was also seen in Mitul Patel’s Mercy earlier this year, will also feature in another English indie, Ali El Arabi’s coming-of-age sports drama 52 Blue.
Adil Hussain on Animal, Kabir Singh
A couple of years ago, speaking on AP Podcast, Adil confessed that Kabir Singh is the only film he’s ever done without reading the script. He also claimed that the film is “misogynistic” and glorifies violence. He walked out of the film within 20 minutes of watching it, and said he’d be embarrassed if his wife watches it. He also claimed that he’d “never” do Vanga’s Animal even if he was paid “Rs 100 crore to Rs 200 crore”.
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Vanga hit back at Adil the very next day on X, claiming that the actor’s “greed is bigger than his passion”, and that he’s replace his face with Artificial Intelligence. Vanga also added that he regrets even knowing Adil, and claimed that his blockbuster film helped his career much more than the “30 indie films” he did across his career.
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However, Adil responded to Vanga’s claims in an interview with India Today. He asked whether international filmmakers like Mira Nair (with whom he worked in the 2012 political thriller The Reluctant Fundamentalist) and Academy Award winner Ang Lee (who cast him in the 2016 adventure film Life of Pi) are less famous than the Animal director.
