Nana Patekar to headline Vivek Agnihotri's 'The Vaccine War': Reports
Vivek Agnihotri's The Vaccine War went on floors only two weeks ago, but it has already made headlines. Now, reports are rife that veteran thespian and actor Nana Patekar is set to play the lead role in the upcoming multilingual drama. The film is eyeing a pan-Indian reach and, accordingly, will release in 11 languages on the occasion of Independence Day next year!
Why does this story matter?
Agnihotri recently helmed The Kashmir Files, which narrated the story of the genocide of the Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s. It raked in over Rs. 337.23cr at the worldwide box office and turned out to be one of the rare successful Hindi films of 2022. Considering this, it needs to be seen if Nana Patekar's presence will help The Vaccine War replicate TKF's success.
Patekar reportedly has 'well-fleshed-out character' in film
A source told Bollywood Hungama, "The Vaccine War stars Nana Patekar in the lead. He has a very important and well-fleshed-out character. Nana sir is putting his heart and soul into playing his character, and he's happy shooting for the film." However, an official update is still awaited. Interestingly, The Kashmir Files, too, was led by a senior actor, Anupam Kher.
Pallavi Joshi, Gopal Singh, Divya Seth onbaord too
The same source told Bollywood Hungama, "The Vaccine War also stars...Pallavi Joshi, who'll be back on the big screen after her dynamic performance in The Kashmir Files." "Gopal Singh, who recently played a significant role in Madhur Bhandarkar's India Lockdown (2022) and veteran actress Divya Seth are also a part of the cast of the film. The movie is currently being shot in Lucknow."
Know more about the film
Agnihotri earlier said The Vaccine War is "an incredible true story of a war that you didn't know India fought. And won with its science, courage & great Indian values (sic)." This will mark the first time a film will hit theaters in 11 languages! It is based on ex-ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava's 2021 book Going Viral- Making of Covaxin: The Inside Story.
Take a look at the announcement tweet
The film has set itself up for a major clash
The Vaccine War's way ahead might be slightly difficult since it will lock horns with Ranbir Kapoor-Rashmika Mandanna-Anil Kapoor's gangster drama Animal. Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal is slated for an August 11, 2023, release, and though it is not a direct clash, the box office prospects of both films may still be impacted. It will be interesting to see which film eventually emerges victorious.
