'The Vaccine War' celebrates the milestones achieved by Indian scientists, claims Vivek Agnihotri
Vivek Agnihotri and movie star Pallavi Joshi. «We are not Bollywood.
That's why we can afford to make films like this,» Vivek told PTI in a joint interview with his actor wife Pallavi.
The couple are currently in Washington DC area for the private screening of 'The Vaccine War' which they said is based on the true story of Indian scientists in their fight against COVID-19 by developing an affordable vaccine for India and the world.
«We realised the amount of work that the (Indian) scientists have done, it's not just inside the lab, but finding monkeys, evacuating people from Iran. I mean they just went completely out of their comfort zone.
We thought that this is a great story to tell.
»And I think the icing on the cake was the fact that about 70 per cent of the scientists are women. That somewhere touched a cord inside me and then Vivek said this is something that we must show to the world.
This will show them what women empowerment is all about," Pallavi said.
The work being done by women scientists in the laboratories of the country is a different kind of patriotism and they are the unsung heroes of India, who need to be recognised and given due credit, Vivek said.
This is the time to celebrate the women scientists of India, and not just cricketers and Bollywood stars, he added.
According to the filmmaker, known for his films 'Chocolate', 'Hate Story', 'The Tashkent Files' and 'The Kashmir Files', their film has been shot under the supervision of scientists.
«The monkeys are real ones from ICMR… These are real locations. This is the first movie in world history which has been shot in a real BSL-4 lab (biosafety level),» he said.
In the movie, the media has been portrayed as a villain and Vivek said there are genuine
