Vivek Agnihotri has responded strongly to a suggestion on whether he would like to cast actors Alia Bhatt and Kangana Ranaut together in a project that he may work on. Talking to Siddharth Kannan, the filmmaker wondered how anyone could think about casting them together, adding that he’d die if he thought like that. (Also read: Vivek Agnihotri opens up on lukewarm response to The Vaccine War)
Vivek on casting Alia-Kangana together
Vivek was first reminded of the praises he has heaped upon both Kangana and Alia, and then asked if he could bring them together in a film. Vivek then told Siddharth Kannan, “Main agar aise sochne lagunga toh mai mar hi jaaunga, kaun sochta hai iss tarah se. Yeh, thinking bhi kaise ho sakti hai kisi ki (I’ll die if I start thinking like this. Who thinks like this? and how can someone think like this). Alia Bhatt got the National Award, she is an actor of India who was honored by the Government Of India, I also got a National Award at that time, so I congratulated Alia. When Kangana got the National Award, I congratulated her too.”
Vivek praises Alia, Kangana
Vivek then told the interviewer that Alia met him very warmly, when they attended a recent awards show, adding that he loved the way she met him. He also said that even Kangana meets him very warmly each time. “Mai do logon ko film mai ek saath kara dun, mera kya lena dena hai unki zindagi se? Mera koi aisa shauk nahi (I bring them both together in a film, what do I have to do with their lives? I do not have any such hobby),” he added. He also said that he does not have any emotional attachment with anyone.
When Vivek said only Kangana and he question Bollywood
During his interaction with filmmaker Sudhir Mishra (that was shared online), Vivek had asked Sudhir why he stopped asking questions. Reminding the Afwaah director that he used to ask questions earlier, Vivek had said, “Who has questioned Bollywood in the last 4-5 years. except for Kangana Ranaut and me?”. And, when Sudhir said his entire life was a question, Vivek added, “No, you used to question, you used to ask questions publicly but have stopped now,. Why?”
The Vaccine War
Directed by Vivek, The Vaccine War released over the weekend and has collected a little more than ₹3 crore in three days since the release. The film talks about the struggles and victories of Indian scientists who successfully made a vaccine for the coronavirus within months. It features Anupam Kher as a government official while Raima Sen plays a journalist in the movie. The Vaccine War also features Sapthami Gowda and Pallavi Joshi as scientists working on the vaccine.
