The Vaccine War, a film directed by Vivek Agnihotri and starring Nana Patekar, Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi and others, is reportedly sold to an OTT platform for a whopping Rs. 35 crores.
The film, which is based on the development of Covaxin, India’s indigenous vaccine against COVID-19, had a theatrical release on September 28, 2023. However, due to the low occupancy and mixed reviews, the film failed to make a mark at the box office, earning only Rs. 9.47 crores in its lifetime run.
The Vaccine War strikes a massive OTT deal with Disney+ Hotstar
According to a report in Bollywood Hungama, the makers of the film have struck a deal with Disney+ Hotstar platform. The OTT platform has reportedly agreed to pay Rs. 35 crores for the digital rights of the film, which is around three times the film’s budget of Rs. 15 crores.
The Vaccine War is touted as India’s first bio-science film, which sheds light on the efforts of the scientists involved in the creation of Covaxin, the vaccine that was developed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Bharat Biotech. The film is based on the book “Going Viral” by Prof Balram Bhargava, the Director-General of ICMR, who is played by Nana Patekar in the film. “The filmmakers approached us to seek consent for this project, and I must say they have done an excellent job,” added Dr Bhargava, who led India’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. “The movie effectively portrays the dedication of the scientists who developed our indigenous vaccine.”
The film also features Pallavi Joshi as Dr. Priya Abraham, the Director of ICMR – National Institute of Virology, Raima Sen as Rohini Singh Dhulia, a science editor, and Anupam Kher as the Cabinet Secretary, among others.
The film has received mixed responses from the audience and critics, with some praising the film for its honest storytelling and factual accuracy, while others criticizing the film for its lack of drama and entertainment value. The film has also been accused of being a propaganda tool by some sections of the media and the public.
The Vaccine War is the third film for Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri in the Files trilogy. The Tashkent Files, which released in 2019, threw light on the sudden death of India’s former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. He followed it up with The Kashmir Files in 2022, which showed the persecution of the Kashmiri Pandits from the valley of Jammu and Kashmir in the earlier 1990s.
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