Vipul Shah to make a web series on vaccine trials
Looks like, Bollywood is leaving no stone unturned in bringing alive the dystopian premise we're currently experiencing, onto the screen. Latest buzz suggests that filmmaker Vipul Amrutlal Shah is working on a new show, a grim take on the human trials of a certain vaccine. As efforts to produce a vaccine for COVID-19 continue around the world, the timing couldn't have been more right.
Shah had started working on the script four years ago, after he stumbled upon a newspaper article about the subject. Of course, papers didn't carry such articles everyday back then. "He has been working on the idea since and has interacted with doctors and consultants who have worked on vaccines so he can incorporate the process into the screenplay," a source told Mumbai Mirror.
Shah, the director of movies such as Aankhen and Namastey London, has joined hands with writers Mozez Singh and Ishani Banerjee for the project. The story, set in India, will tell the audience what all goes into the clinical trials of drugs. Interestingly, the makers have decided to incorporate a shady scam in the plot of the show.
Filming for the show is planned to commence in November. However, the actors are yet to be finalized. "Due to the complexities of the plot, Vipul (Shah) has decided to go with a series rather than a feature film. It will be a thriller like the blind man's bluff, Aankhen," the source further informed the publication.
It should be noted that movies on pandemics have recently seen a steep rise in popularity. For instance, the online viewership for Steven Soderbergh's 2011 pandemic movie Contagion grew substantially in the past few months, as COVID-19 engulfed the world.
On a related note, filmmaker Anubhav Sinha (Article 15, Thappad) will produce an anthology movie revolving around the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, under his production banner Benaras Media Works. Along with Sinha, directors Sudhir Mishra, Hansal Mehta, Ketan Mehta, and Subhash Kapoor will also helm separate stories in the anthology. The yet-untitled movie is planned to be released in 2021.
While you await these exciting shows and movies, let us inform you that the pandemic continues to wreak havoc around the world. Across India, COVID-19 has infected over 26.5 lakh and claimed the lives of 51,079. Globally, it sickened 2.18 crore and killed 7.73 lakh.
