Vipul Amrutlal Shah to produce & direct a web series based on human drug testing?

MUMBAI: The medical experts and scientists across the globe are working round-the-clock to develop a vaccine to combat the rapidly spreading coronavirus. Given the urgency to stem the spread of Covid-19, some drug makers are moving straight into small-scale human tests, without waiting for the completion of pre-human testing procedures. Needless to say, the race to develop the vaccine in a cost-effective manner among the countries has raised several questions on the modus operandi. Clinical trials test potential treatments in human volunteers to see whether they should be approved for wider use in the general population. A treatment could be a drug, medical device, or biologic, such as a vaccine, blood product, or gene therapy.

While no filmmaker so far has thought of attempting a subject like this, writer-producer-director Vipul Amrutlal Shah has consciously decided to chart a challenging and unexplored territory with his next offering, Humans, a web series based on human drug testing that would unravel the shades of grey, risk-taking measures, loopholes and disparity in our bid to develop the vaccine.    

Hailing from a strong theatre background, the filmmaker, as sources suggest, has recently collaborated with a digital platform for a web series that would mark his digital debut. Vipul Shah, who has been contemplating to venture into the digital space for quite some time now, has recently locked the script of his first web series, Humans, to be mounted on an international scale. The show is written by Mozez Singh and Ishani Banerjee.

A source informs, “Humans will mark Vipul sir’s return to the thriller genre after the success of Aankhen (2002). He is quite excited and confident about the show, surprisingly more so because, he has no connection with the medical world. He has been researching on the subject since the last 2-3 years and has got a panel of doctors and researchers to help him figure out the huge underbelly of the medical fraternity who develop these kinds of drugs and vaccines tested on humans.”
 
“Considering the current pandemic scenario and the constant efforts by the medical research team across the world to develop a vaccine, the subject of human drug testing is quite relatable. Since it’s a very sensitive subject, Vipul sir wants to leave no stone unturned in the writing department and so he has been gathering as much information as possible to make the show an eye-opener,” the source adds.

“Humans is a show about human drug testing. In today’s world, the vaccines and new medicines are needed daily but what all happens creating them is one of the biggest scams in the world. Humans will try to shed light on the scam affecting thousands of human lives during this process," revealed a source close to the development adding that the web series will feature two female leads to be announced soon. 

Produced and directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah under his banner Sunshine Pictures Private Limited and written by Mozez Singh and Ishani Banerjee, Humans is scheduled to go on floors by the end of this year.