Interview | Vaccine War celebrates power of India, scientists, women: Vivek Agnihotri

Q. Science can become politically contentious. Global warming has been a very contested subject, globally. Are vaccines also becoming political now?

My movie, The Vaccine War, is essentially about Indian scientists, and how they can achieve anything. It is about science, and not politics. But, at another level, yes, everything is political, including personal relationships. Democracy by its DNA forces you to choose and when you have to choose, it is politics. To me, politics doesn't matter too much though I make socio-political films. It is like somebody making a love story but doesn’t mean he is in love all the time, or if somebody is making a war movie, it doesn't mean he has to be a soldier.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, sadly, there were some people who wanted India to fail in making its own vaccine. There were others who wanted us to have to import vaccines from outside, highlighting a political situation as a backdrop.

Q. You have always made movies where political narratives dominate. What would you choose — narrative or facts? For example, while scripting a scene, you have to make a choice – let us say writing a dialogue which is factually incorrect but furthers your narrative, your point of view – would you choose facts or narrative?

In Buddha in a Traffic Jam, the strongest point of view was of the Naxalites. In Tashkent Files, the most powerful argument came from Pallavi’s (Joshi) character, for which she got a National Award. And she says you are trying to whitewash everything. She says, all you are trying to do is dim-light the whole thing.

 My films are deliberately inconclusive. I don’t say this is right and that is wrong. In The Kashmir Files, the most powerful arguments came from Pallavi. She talks about whether God exists or not. She says hope is God. She talks about system and government. Yes, a filmmaker cannot hide his own inclination. My inclination definitely is not towards people who generally are always talking negative things about India.

Q. You are very critical of the media and journalists! Why?

I wonder about ethics (or lack of) in journalism, or lack of idealism. What and where are role models for young journalists? This is due to many reasons, but the influence of corporate interests being supreme. Lack of idealism has led to a decline in quality of reporting and erosion of ethics in the media field.

Q. What is next in the Files trilogy?

It all started with me looking at the Ashoka statue, and the three lions. The three visible pillars of democracy: truth, justice and life. The right to truth was Tashkent Files, right to justice was The Kashmir Files and right to life is going to be coming next year as Delhi Files. 

Q. A controversy is brewing in Hyderabad about a movie called Razakar.

My point of view is that the intention of making a film is very important. If your intention is not correct, then the film has a problem. The Kashmir Files, irrespective of what people say, never had intent to demonise Muslims. A scene in the film has been written by a Kashmiri Muslim boy.

I feel bad about it whenever someone makes a movie about terrorism, people say it is about Muslims. But are not Muslims victims of terror? Muslims tell me, sir, thanks for making The Kashmir Files — we love the film because it differentiates between good Muslims and terrorists.  I don’t know if Razakar is being made with a good intent or keeping an eye on upcoming elections.
Elections have become a big industry. News channels create special programs for elections. Everybody is doing something for elections, and not just in India, but also in the USA. There is no harm if some people try to encash on sentiments.

Q. Talking of intention, what is the intention and making a movie on vaccines?

I don’t want, say some 32 years later, somebody is making a film on vaccines. Some young director discovers it, and says, ha, so, we Indians saved humanity. We in India gifted free vaccines to people in 201 countries, let me make a movie. When such a youngster would make a movie, again, a section of society would say it is propaganda. I don't want this to happen. This is the right time, I feel.
This vaccine was made by 70 per cent women scientists. So it is about science but also about women empowerment. But I also want to break the narrative of western style feminism. I wanted to celebrate Indic feminism through this film.

Q. Is Anupam Kher playing the role of Prime Minister Modi?

No, he is not playing the role of PM Narendra Modi. The Vaccine War is a pure science film. It is only about scientists. Anupam Kher plays the role of Cabinet Secretary.  

Q. Would you ever snap out of politics and make very different kinds of films? Where, say, you feature actors like Nana Patekar, Anupam Kher and Pallavi Joshi in a normal setting without a war, without country, ideology.

There are so many people who tell happy stories. I will not be able to add anything to it.