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As the country seeks to establish itself as a space power, audiences are developing an appetite for the extraterrestrial on the big screen.

‘I now understand the effort it takes to execute a space mission’ ... Mission Mangal. Photograph: Fox Star Hindi Studios
▼ In 2014, India sent the Mars Orbiter Missioninto space, and became the first country to send a satellite to orbit the planet at its first attempt – putting its much richer regional rival China in the shade as it became the first Asian nation to get to the red planet. The project was notable for being led by a team of female scientists; as is India’s second lunar probe, Chandrayaan-2(from the Sanskrit for “moon craft”), which was launched last month and is due to land on the moon in early September. And as the country establishes itself as a space power, Indians have developed an appetite for sci-fi themes in its cinema.
The patriotic outburst that followed the Mars mission has fuelled the latest example of Indian space cinema: Mission Mangal (Sanskrit for Mars), a fictionalised account of the Orbiter Mission. Starring and produced by Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, it is due for release on 15 August, India’s Independence Day. “I would follow the news about India’s space missions and feel proud of what we were achieving,” says Kumar. “But through Mission Mangal I guess you could say I have an insider’s perspective.”
Kumar, one of the highest paid actors in the world, says he had long wanted to work with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Starring in a film about Mangalyaan (“Mars craft”) required him to take a crash course in astrophysics. “I now understand the amount of effort and planning it takes to successfully execute a space mission and my respect for all the scientists and engineers who work on these missions has grown immensely,” says Kumar.

Healed by an alien ... Hrithik Roshan in Koi ... Mil Gaya. Photograph: TCD/Prod.DB/Alamy Stock Photo
Sci-fi isn’t a new genre in Indian cinema, but it has nothing like the profile it has in the west. It only established itself after the country’s economy liberalised in the 1990s, allowing the entry of (▪ ▪ ▪)
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