The Vaccine War director Vivek Agnihotri took a fresh dig at Bollywood. The filmmaker, who has been publicly critical about Bollywood for a while now, dubbed the industry ‘old’ and ‘corrupt’. Speaking about Bollywood in a recent interview, Vivek criticised the culture of star worship and expressed that viewers who indulge in celebrity worship might not appreciate his films. He went on to praise the South film industry, mentioning his love for Rajinikanth and admiration for Chiranjeevi.
Speaking with Cinema Express, Vivek Agnihotri called Bollywood “corrupt, old and dead system” and added, “They believe the audiences are dumb. They believe stars are everything, and as a result, you don’t know the names of writers and directors. Thus it’s like one fascist system where the dictator is the most important person. I challenge that system which is why I always refer to ourselves as Indian cinema.”
Sharing his views on the South film industry, Vivek said, “Look at Rajinikanth… he moves around with no pretence. He’s my idol. Even the biggest of stars here are very simple people. Recently I saw Chiranjeevi walking around wearing a chappal. I like that. I don’t like arrogant behaviour.”
Vivek Agnihotri will be releasing his upcoming film, The Vaccine War, this weekend. The film features Anupam Kher, Nana Patekar, Sapthami Gowda, and Pallavi Joshi as lead characters. The movie revolves around the Covid-19 outbreak and the vaccines that were developed to fight it. The film will put Indian scientists, especially women, developing the vaccine in the spotlight. Produced by Pallavi Joshi and I Am Buddha, the film will be released in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu on September 28, 2023.
While audiences and critics will share their verdict later this weekend, the film has had special screenings across the world. R Madhavan caught the screening in New York few weeks ago and was all praise for it. Vivek also revealed Javed Akhtar watched the film and called him to praise it.
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