The Vaccine War

{{More plot|date=February 2024}}

Scientists at the Indian biomedical lab roll out an indigenous vaccine at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the race against time. The Director General of ICMR Dr. Balram Bhargava spearheads the vaccine development project. A high level expert committee is set-up by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, ICMR, and Bharat Biotech.

A scientific team of bioengineers led by Dr. Priya Abraham, Director of ICMR-National Institute of Virology, consists of Virologists Dr. Sreelekshmy Mohandas, Dr. Nivedita Gupta, Dr. Anita Aich and Dr. Pragya Yadav; Epidemiologists and Infectious Disease Scientists Dr. Rajni Kant Srivastava, Dr. Raman Gangakhedkar, Dr. Samiran Panda, Dr. Varsha Potdar and Dr. Enna Dogra Gupta.

The SARS-CoV-2 strain (NIV-2020-770) used in developing the BBV152 vaccine is retrieved from tourists who arrive in New Delhi, India. The scientific team sequences the ‘Vero CCL-81’ cells and the genome sequence is deposited in the GISAID database. The team then reports the development of an inactivated whole-virion SARS-CoV-2 vaccine BBV152, which elicits a neutralizing antibody response in animal studies, and phase I clinical trial against hCoV-19/India/2020770.

{{Castlist|

• Nana Patekar as Dr. Balram Bhargava, Director-General of Indian Council of Medical Research
• Pallavi Joshi as Dr. Priya Abraham, Director of ICMR-National Institute of Virology
• Raima Sen as Rohini Singh Dhulia, Science Editor at The Daily Wire
• Sapthami Gowda as Dr. Sreelekshmy Mohandas, Scientist at ICMR-NIV
• Anupam Kher as Cabinet Secretary
• Girija Oak as Dr. Nivedita Gupta, Head of Virology Dept. at ICMR
• Nivedita Bhattacharya as Dr. Pragya Yadav, Scientist at ICMR-NIV
• Mohan Kapur as Dr. Raman Gangakhedkar, Head and Scientist of Epidemiology and Communicable Disease Division at ICMR
• Anchal Dwivedi as Dr. Enna Dogra Gupta, Scientist at ICMR
• Arvind Paswan as Dr. Rajni Kant Srivastava Sr. Deputy Director-General of ICMR
• Mayukh as Dr. Samiran Panda, Head and Scientist of Epidemiology and Communicable Disease Division at ICMR (Also Director of ICMR-NARI)
• Deepjyoti Das as Editor
• Vrinda Kher as Dr. Varsha Potdar, Scientist and Sr. Research Officer at ICMR-NIV
• Suhita Thatte as House help of Rohini Singh Dhulia
• Benny Brown as Security Guard Bahadur
• Manas Gupta as Gardener's Son
• Divya Seth as Dr. Bhargava's wife
• Reuben Israel as Dr. Priya Abraham's husband
• Arjun Dwivedi as Dr. Sanjay Yadav
• Asheesh Kapur as Vikas Gupta
• Aarav Shukla as Dr. Pragya Yadav's son
• Kavya Goel as Dr. Pragya Yadav's daughter
• Rudra Choudhary as Dr. Nivedita Gupta's son
• Nitant Trivedi as Dr. Nivedita Gupta's son
• Dheeraj Sharma as Professor Vijay Raghavan}}

The film was announced in November 2022, last schedule started in June 2023 and the shoot wrapped up on 13 August 2023.{{Cite web |date=2023-08-15 |title=Vivek Agnihotri announces The Vaccine War release date with teaser. Watch |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/vivek-agnihotri-announces-the-vaccine-war-release-date-teaser-101692072720795.html |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en |archive-date=15 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815140358/https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/vivek-agnihotri-announces-the-vaccine-war-release-date-teaser-101692072720795.html |url-status=live }}

The theatrical release date was announced via teaser on the 77th Independence Day of India.{{Cite web |title=The Vaccine War teaser: Vivek Agnihotri shows intigruing glimpse of India's Covid-19 battle, sets up clash with Salaar |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/bollywood/report-the-vaccine-war-teaser-vivek-agnihotri-pallavi-joshi-nana-patekar-india-covid-19-battle-clash-prabhas-salaar-3055895 |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=DNA India |language=en |archive-date=15 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815105654/https://www.dnaindia.com/bollywood/report-the-vaccine-war-teaser-vivek-agnihotri-pallavi-joshi-nana-patekar-india-covid-19-battle-clash-prabhas-salaar-3055895 |url-status=live }} The film will be released on 28 September 2023.{{Cite web |date=2023-08-15 |title=Anupam Kher, Nana Patekar's The Vaccine War to clash with Prabhas' Salaar at the box office |url=https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/anupam-kher-nana-patekars-the-vaccine-war-to-clash-with-prabhas-salaar-at-the-box-office-12999012.html |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=Firstpost |language=en |archive-date=15 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815102517/https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/anupam-kher-nana-patekars-the-vaccine-war-to-clash-with-prabhas-salaar-at-the-box-office-12999012.html |url-status=live }} Earlier it was set to be released on 15 August 2023 and then 24 October 2023. It is planned to be released in eleven Indian languages{{Cite web |last=sanjana |title='The Vaccine War' Teaser OUT: Nana Patekar in Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri's directorial peaks fan curiosity |url=https://newsable.asianetnews.com/entertainment/-the-vaccine-war-teaser-out-nana-patekar-in-vivek-ranjan-agnihotri-s-directorial-peaks-fan-curiosity-msw-rzf6k4 |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=Asianet News |language=en |archive-date=15 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815105655/https://newsable.asianetnews.com/entertainment/-the-vaccine-war-teaser-out-nana-patekar-in-vivek-ranjan-agnihotri-s-directorial-peaks-fan-curiosity-msw-rzf6k4 |url-status=live }} including Hindi, English, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Punjabi, Malayalam, Gujarati and Bhojpuri.

The official trailer was released on 12 September 2023.{{Cite web |date=2023-09-12 |title=The Vaccine War trailer: It's Indian scientists vs naysayers in Vivek Agnihotri's next film |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/the-vaccine-war-trailer-vivek-agnihotri-film-covid-19-pandemic-101694515518078.html |access-date=2023-09-13 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en |archive-date=21 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230921174900/https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/the-vaccine-war-trailer-vivek-agnihotri-film-covid-19-pandemic-101694515518078.html |url-status=live }} The Vaccine War was marketed as "India's first bio-science film".{{Cite web |date=2023-08-15 |title=The Vaccine War teaser: Vivek Agnihotri presents India's first Bio-Science movie on creating Covaxin, film to clash with Salaar |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/the-vaccine-war-teaser-vivek-agnihotri-nana-patekar-india-first-bio-science-movie-covaxin-salaar-clash-8893144/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815105654/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/the-vaccine-war-teaser-vivek-agnihotri-nana-patekar-india-first-bio-science-movie-covaxin-salaar-clash-8893144/ |archive-date=15 August 2023 |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}} The film was theatrically released on 28 September 2023.

The films digital streaming rights was sold to Disney+ Hotstar for {{Indian Rupee}}35 crore.{{Cite web |last=Hungama |first=Bollywood |date=2023-11-23 |title=EXCLUSIVE: The Vaccine War OTT rights sold at Rs. 35 crores : Bollywood News - Bollywood Hungama |website=Bollywood Hungama |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/exclusive-vaccine-war-ott-rights-sold-rs-35-crores/ |access-date=2023-11-29 |language=en}} The film was premiered on the platform on 24 November 2023.{{Cite web |title=The Vaccine War Finally Makes Its OTT Debut; Vivek Agnihotri-Directorial Is Streaming On This Digital Platform |url=https://english.jagran.com/entertainment/the-vaccine-war-finally-makes-its-ott-debut-vivek-agnihotri-directorial-is-streaming-on-this-digital-platform-disney-plus-hotstar-10116107 |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=English Jagran |date=24 November 2023 |language=en}}

{{Infobox album

| name = The Vaccine War

| type = soundtrack

| artist = Rohit Sharma, Vanraj Bhatia, Swapnil Bandodkar and Shryea Kaul

| released = 24 September 2023{{cite web|url=https://www.jiosaavn.com/album/the-vaccine-war/OuDyEC3N,-Y_|title=The Vaccine War – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack|date=25 September 2023|publisher=Jiosaavn|access-date=25 September 2023|archive-date=25 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925171238/https://www.jiosaavn.com/album/the-vaccine-war/OuDyEC3N,-Y_|url-status=live}}

| genre = Feature film soundtrack

| recorded = 2022

| length = 17:31

| language = Hindi

| label = Zee Music Company

| producer =

| misc = {{external music video| header = Official audio|{{YouTube|Qmy1JK6bVvk|The Vaccine War - Full Album}}

}}

}}

The music of the film is composed by Rohit Sharma, Vanraj Bhatia, Swapnil Bandodkar and Shryea Kaul while lyrics written by Vasant Dev and Shryea Kaul.

{{Track listing

| headline = Track listing

| total_length = 17:31

| extra_column = Singer(s)

| title1 = The Vaccine War Theme

| extra1 = -

| music1 = Rohit Sharma

| lyrics1 = -

| length1 = 2:51

| title2 = The Vaccine War Theme

| note2 = Reprise

| extra2 = -

| music2 = Rohit Sharma

| lyrics2 = -

| length2 = 2:37

| title3 = Nasadiya Sukta

| extra3 = Rahul Chitnis, Vivek Naik, Nitin Karandikar, Sagar Lele, Gaurang Govind Kulkarni, Shrikant Bhausaheb Kulkarni, Tanmay Prabhakar Pandit, Rudra Desai, Adamya Wakhle, Chinmay Vinayak, Abeer Chowdhary, Veena Joshi, Sonal Naik

| music3 = Vanraj Bhatia

| lyrics3 = Vasant Dev

| length3 = 3:56

| title4 = Nasadiya Sukta

| note4 = Rock Version

| extra4 = Swapnil Bandodkar

| music4 = Vanraj Bhatia, Swapnil Bandodkar

| lyrics4 = Vasant Dev

| length4 = 4:57

| title5 = After The Rain

| extra5 = Shryea Kaul

| music5 = Shryea Kaul

| lyrics5 = Shryea Kaul

| length5 = 3:30

}}

The Vaccine War garnered mixed reviews from critics and audiences.{{Cite news |last=Cyril |first=Grace |date=4 October 2023 |title='The Vaccine War' box office collection Day 6: Vivek's film mints just Rs 65 lakh |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/the-vaccine-war-box-office-collection-day-6-vivek-agnihotris-film-mints-just-rs-65-lakh-2444114-2023-10-04 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250224173853/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/the-vaccine-war-box-office-collection-day-6-vivek-agnihotris-film-mints-just-rs-65-lakh-2444114-2023-10-04 |archive-date=24 February 2025 |access-date=24 February 2025 |work=India Today |quote='The Vaccine War', received mixed reviews from the audience and critics.}}

Mudit Bhatnagar of Times Now rating it 3.5/5,{{Cite web |title=The Vaccine War Movie Review: Vivek Agnihotri Blends Science With Emotions In Fitting Tribute To Unsung Pandemic Heroes |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/entertainment-news/reviews/bollywood/the-vaccine-war-movie-review-vivek-agnihotri-blends-science-emotions-fitting-tribute-unsung-pandemic-heroes-imdb-rating-review-104001260 |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=TimesNow |date=28 September 2023 |language=en |archive-date=28 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928121408/https://www.timesnownews.com/entertainment-news/reviews/bollywood/the-vaccine-war-movie-review-vivek-agnihotri-blends-science-emotions-fitting-tribute-unsung-pandemic-heroes-imdb-rating-review-104001260 |url-status=live }} praising its blend of science and emotion. Reviewing the film, Shalini Langer of The Indian Express rated the film with 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Vivek Agnihotri's devotion to his subject – with obviously the government's full cooperation and access – veers the film often towards the look and feel of a public service broadcast".{{Cite web |date=2023-09-28 |title=The Vaccine War movie review: Vivek Agnihotri's tribute to Covid warriors, and atmanirbharta |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/the-vaccine-war-movie-review-vivek-agnihotri-nana-patekar-covid-warriors-8959574/ |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=The Indian Express |language=en |archive-date=28 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928060619/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/the-vaccine-war-movie-review-vivek-agnihotri-nana-patekar-covid-warriors-8959574/ |url-status=live }} Zinia Bandyopadhyay of India Today rated the film with 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote

"watching the film might give the impression that the entire industry made it their mission to undermine the vaccine and the dedicated scientists behind it."{{Cite web |title=The Vaccine War Review: Vivek Agnihotri's film is relevant but not without flaws |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/reviews/story/the-vaccine-war-review-vivek-agnihotri-film-is-relevant-but-not-without-flaws-2441496-2023-09-28 |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=India Today |date=28 September 2023 |language=en |archive-date=28 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928061008/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/reviews/story/the-vaccine-war-review-vivek-agnihotri-film-is-relevant-but-not-without-flaws-2441496-2023-09-28 |url-status=live }} Renuka Vyavahare of The Times of India rated the film with 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Nana Patekar is outstanding but the film reduces itself to being a government mouthpiece parading as a medical drama."{{Cite news |title=The Vaccine War Movie Review : Not coronavirus, media's the real villain in this one-sided medical drama |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/the-vaccine-war/movie-review/103997842.cms |access-date=2023-09-28 |issn=0971-8257 |archive-date=28 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928061244/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/the-vaccine-war/movie-review/103997842.cms |url-status=live }} Venkat Arikatla of Greatandhra gave a rating of 1.5 out of 5, calling it an overdose of propagandist torture. He stated, what the film does is malign those journalists who rightly questioned the ruling party's grand claims of being capable of producing the vaccine.{{Cite web |last=Arikatla |first=Venkat |date=2023-09-29 |title='The Vaccine War' Review: Overdose of propagandist torture |url=https://www.greatandhra.com/movies/reviews/the-vaccine-war-review-overdose-of-propagandist-torture-132482 |access-date=2023-09-29 |website=greatandhra.com |language=en |archive-date=29 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929090613/https://www.greatandhra.com/movies/reviews/the-vaccine-war-review-overdose-of-propagandist-torture-132482 |url-status=live }}

The film is also reviewed by Manoj Kumar and Manish Sachan in Media Asia,{{Cite journal |last1=Kumar |first1=Manoj |last2=Sachan |first2=Manish |date=2023-10-24 |title=Government mouthpiece and media agenda: review of the film The Vaccine War |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01296612.2023.2272364 |journal=Media Asia |language=en |pages=1–7 |doi=10.1080/01296612.2023.2272364 |s2cid=264504938 |issn=0129-6612}} Anuj Kumar of The Hindu,{{Cite news |last=Kumar |first=Anuj |date=2023-09-28 |title='The Vaccine War' movie review: Nana Patekar and Pallavi Joshi drive this toolkit of a film |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-vaccine-war-movie-review-nana-patekar-and-pallavi-joshi-drive-this-toolkit-of-a-film/article67357024.ece |access-date=2024-02-11 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}} Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in,{{Cite web |last=Ramnath |first=Nandini |date=2023-09-28 |title='The Vaccine War' review: The real battle is elsewhere |url=https://scroll.in/reel/1056625/the-vaccine-war-review-the-real-battle-is-elsewhere |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US}} Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times,{{Cite web |last=Kukreja |first=Monika Rawal |date=2023-09-28 |title=The Vaccine War review: A tale of courage, conviction and science loaded with ace performances |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/the-vaccine-war-review-a-tale-of-courage-conviction-and-science-loaded-with-ace-performances-101695885639231.html |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}} Guruprasad D. N. of Deccan Herald,{{Cite web |last=N |first=Guruprasad D. |title=The Vaccine War{{!}} Vaccine nationalism with a dose of misinformation |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/entertainment/the-vaccine-war-vaccine-nationalism-with-a-dose-of-misinformation-2707059 |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=Deccan Herald |language=en}} Avinash Ramachandran of Cinema Express,{{Cite web |last=Ramachandran |first=Avinash |date=28 September 2023 |title=The Vaccine War Movie Review: This compelling film that goes to both expected and unexpected places |url=https://www.cinemaexpress.com/hindi/review/2023/sep/28/the-vaccine-war-movie-reviewthis-compellingfilm-that-goes-to-both-expected-and-unexpected-places-48119.html |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=Cinema Express |language=en}} Pooja Biraia Jaiswal of The Week,{{Cite web |last=Jaiswal |first=Pooja Biraia |date=28 September 2023 |title='The Vaccine War' review: An engaging portrayal of the pandemic |url=https://www.theweek.in/review/movies/2023/09/28/the-vaccine-war-review-stellar-performances-elevate-an-engaging-portrayal-of-the-pandemic.html |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=The Week |language=en}} Garima Sadhwani{{Cite web |last=Sadhwani |first=Garima |date=2023-09-29 |title=Honest Review: Why 'The Vaccine War' Is Not the Story of India's Scientists |url=https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/honest-review-of-the-vaccine-war |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=TheQuint |language=en}} and Pratikshy Mishra{{Cite web |last=Mishra |first=Pratikshya |date=2023-09-28 |title='The Vaccine War' Review: An Effective Tale of Heroism for the Most Part |url=https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/the-vaccine-war-full-movie-review-covid-19-vaccine-india-covaxin-vivek-agnihotri-nana-patekar |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=TheQuint |language=en}} of The Quint, Mayur Sanap of Rediff.com,{{Cite web |last=Sanap |first=Mayur |date=28 September 2023 |title=The Vaccine War Review: Absorbing Drama |url=https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/the-vaccine-war-review/20230928.htm |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=Rediff |language=en}} and Lachmi Deb Roy of Firstpost.{{Cite web |last=Roy |first=Lachmi Deb |date=2023-09-28 |title=Vivek Agnihotri & Nana Patekar's The Vaccine War Movie Review |url=https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/vivek-agnihotris-the-vaccine-war-movie-review-nana-patekar-makes-a-comeback-with-a-bang-13178012.html |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=Firstpost |language=en}}

On its opening day, The Vaccine War collected a total India net of 0.85 crore .{{Cite web |date=2023-10-23 |title=The Vaccine War Box Office Collection {{!}} All Language {{!}} Day Wise {{!}} Worldwide - Sacnilk |url=https://www.sacnilk.com/news/The_Vaccine_War_2023_Box_Office_Collection_Day_Wise_Worldwide |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=www.sacnilk.com |language=en-US}}

The Vaccine War has grossed 12.2 crore in India, with a further 2.5 crore gross overseas collection.

{{Reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaccine War}}

Category:2023 films

Category:Indian films about the COVID-19 pandemic

Category:Films directed by Vivek Agnihotri

Category:Indian disaster films

Category:Fiction about medicine and health

Category:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in fiction

Category:Indian Council of Medical Research in fiction

Category:Films about scientists

Category:Films set in 2021

Category:Fiction about biomedical engineering

Category:Experimental medical treatments in fiction

Category:Films about infectious diseases

Category:Films about social media

Category:Films about viral outbreaks

Category:Hospitals in fiction

Category:Films about conspiracy theories

Category:Medical-themed films

Category:Films shot in Maharashtra

Category:Films shot in Pune

Category:Indian thriller films

Category:Indian films based on actual events

Category:Films set in Delhi

Category:Films set in India

Category:Indian docudrama films

Category:Films based on non-fiction books