29 September,2023 12:08 PM IST | Mumbai | Tanmayi Savadi
Pic/Instagram
Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri is back with yet another reality-based film, titled The Vaccine War. It stars Nana Patekar, Anupam Kher, Sapthami Gowda, and Pallavi Joshi as lead characters. Produced by Pallavi Joshi and I Am Buddha, the film released in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on September 28, 2023.
In an exclusive interview with Mid-Day.com, Vivek spoke about the possibility of collaborating with this year's National Film Awards winners- Alia Bhatt, Allu Arjun and Kriti Sanon. Agnihotri, whose film The Kashmir Files won the Best Feature Film on National Integration award, said he's a fan of Alia and Allu.
Vivek shared, "I'm a fan of Alia Bhatt and Allu Arjun. I feel Alia is a part of my family and I always admire her work. I like the way she has matured as an actor in the last few years. She has creative intelligence and that's why I really like her growth and the way she has conducted herself in public. Whenever there's a discussion, I refuse to accept anything negative about her. Alia is a great example of how an actor should mature.
He added, "I have always been a fan of Allu Arjun. Hopefully, someday I would love to work with him if I am allowed to do so. Regarding Kriti, Pallavi (Joshi) and I saw her film Mimi and thought she gave a mature and competitive performance."
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Vivek said he never pre-decides the lead actor for his films. "I write my characters first and then approach the person who I feel is best suited. Similarly, when I was working on The Vaccine War, people said it was difficult to work with Nana Patekar but I wanted to take the risk. It paid off. He completely surrendered himself to the role and film like a small child."
Alia won the Best Actress National Film Award 2023 for her performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi. She played the titular role of a brothel madam who entered politics to fight for the rights of sex workers. Alia shared the award with Kriti, who received it for Mimi. Kriti played the role of a surrogate mother in the Laxman Utekar-directed Netflix film.
Allu Arjun was honoured with the Best Actor award for his performance in Pushpa: The Rise.
