Vivek Agnihotri claims ‘money is being paid’ so no one talks about The Vaccine War; says studios offered him Rs 300 crore to make Kashmir Files sequel

Director Vivek Agnihotri recently claimed that there was an ’embargo’ from the industry on his upcoming film The Vaccine War and that no one was talking about it on purpose.

Vivek Agnihotri Vivek Agnihotri’s The Vaccine War will hit the screens on September 28. (Images: Vivek Agnihotri/Facebook)

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More than a year after the release of his The Kashmir Files, which stirred considerable controversy across the country, director Vivek Agnihotri is gearing up for the release of his next film, The Vaccine War. Touted as India’s first bio-science cinematic endeavour, The Vaccine War tells the story of the scientists pivotal in developing the indigenous BBV152 vaccine, commonly known as Covaxin.

Meanwhile, the filmmaker recently claimed that there was an “embargo” from the industry on The Vaccine War and that no one was talking about it on purpose. During an interview with Galatta Plus, he remarked, “When Buddha in a Traffic Jam came, at least 50-100 people reviewed it on YouTube. With The Tashkent Files, we had limited resources and could only release it in 175 theatres. These days, if you just write the name Jawan, at least 10,000 people will come and review it. People do so much YouTube-ing now. Yet, when such an important film like The Vaccine War is coming, and that too after I delivered a Rs 350-crore movie which also created a significant impact, nobody has reviewed it because money is being paid and there’s an embargo that nobody should utter our names.”

Watch The Vaccine War trailer here:

Emphasising that his decisions have never been driven by financial considerations, Vivek Agnihotri revealed that many major production houses and renowned stars approached him with substantial offers, urging him to create a sequel to The Kashmir Files. “I didn’t want to fall into that trap,” he continued, “After The Kashmir Files, every single studio was ready to give me Rs 200-300 crore and every star has called me privately expressing their desire to do The Delhi Files or The Kashmir Files Part 2 with me. Anybody in his right sense would make The Kashmir Files 2.”

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When questioned about whether he had material prepared for such a sequel, Agnihotri humorously made a comment about formulaic films and questioned the necessity of material when one could churn out as many Housefull movies as needed.

“I could have done that to make money. Instead, we went back and made a smaller film, struggling so hard, not sleeping for 50 days. Pallavi (actor and Agnihotri’s wife Pallavi Joshi) and I were running around. Whatever little money we earned, we have put it back into this film and if this film doesn’t work, I am back to where I was before The Kashmir Files,” he added.

Penned by Agnihotri himself, The Vaccine War, bankrolled by his wife and actor Pallavi Joshi, stars Nana Patekar, Raima Sen, Pallavi Joshi, Sapthami Gowda and Anupam Kher in key roles. Set to hit the screens on September 28, the movie will be released in 10 different languages.

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First published on: 23-09-2023 at 20:55 IST

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