New Delhi: Vivek Agnihotri has begun promoting his upcoming film 'The Vaccine War'. His last film 'The Kashmir Files' which was also a blockbuster won him the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Film on National Integration. As 'The Vaccine War' release is awaited, Vivek shared what it was like directing a bio-science film and that the box office does not concern him.


Talking about The Vaccine War's trailer alleging that the film is 'India's first bio-science film', Vivek Agnihotri told Hindustan Times, "Ya, we don't make science films. I think… I believe that our first true science film was Rocketry. But that was about astronomy. The Vaccine War is about bio-science. If Madhavan had not made Rocketry, I would've called it India's first science film. But this is a 100% genuine science film because the entire film takes place inside a lab. Every single character in the film is a scientist. And these are names of real scientists. It's not like I've fictionalised them."


Talking about his upcoming film's commercial prospects, he said, "See, when The Kashmir Files made money, people thought that it's unprecedented. Then came Pathaan, that surpassed those numbers. Then came Gadar 2. And now comes Jawan. I feel the most painful life is of those who chase numbers. Because numbers are meant to be broken. For me, if even one girl gets inspired by my film to become a virologist, I'll consider my film successful. We've shown it to 5,000 people in the US so far. They've cried, laughed, felt proud, they came out and hugged us and thanked us for making this film. Now, how people react to it in India will be a litmus test. I care about reactions of people, I don't care about box office."


Talking about his recent public spat with Naseeruddin Shah, he said in the same interview, "It doesn't matter what people share on social media or not. Social media isn't a barometer to judge people's character. I don't care about that. What people do in real life matters a lot. I've seen a lot of stars and filmmakers do a lot for the nation. It's not like they don't. What people say sometimes can be misunderstood. But I do it because somebody has to speak up. When I'm in a position of influence, and I can influence even 10 young people to believe in India's newfound confidence and to take India forward, that's more than enough."


'The Vaccine War' will be released on September 28, 2023.