Vidya Balan dispels the notion that Mission Mangal is a women-centric movie and tells us that men and women had an equal part to play in the real mission
Harshada Rege (BOMBAY TIMES; August 13, 2019)

There has been a lot of talk about Mission Mangal being a women-centric film, given that there are five women leading the show. However, team Mission Mangal has gone to reiterate the fact that it might appear like one, but the film is not a women-centric movie. In fact, the movie celebrates the equal contribution of women and men in making India’s first interplanetary mission — Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also known as Mangalyaan — a success. Talking about it being called a women-centric film, director Jagan Shakti told us, “To me, they are all scientists at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Gender doesn’t get into the way of their everyday work, which is complex and challenging. For them, a sari or a shirt doesn’t matter — all that matters is that you are a scientist who can aid India’s space program.”

When we spoke to Vidya Balan, who was offered three projects based on the story before she signed Mission Mangal, she explained, “That was also the difference between the scripts that I had read earlier (on the same subject) and this one. The contribution of men to the mission is very clear in this story. The other stories had made it out to be a women-led mission, but in reality, it was not. Men and women had contributed to it equally. So yes, this is not a female-centric movie. The hero of the story is ISRO, and it’s about how they overcome challenges that seemed insurmountable. It seemed impossible to work within those budgets and meet the deadlines.”

Talking about how India achieved the feat within a controlled budget, she said, “We are a nation of jugaad, and we should be proud of that. I am not talking about some bogus jugaad. When I say this, I mean that we know how to make do with what we have, and Indians know how to think out-of-the-box. Every time I travel abroad, I am so amazed by how they always stick to the rules and processes, which is great. But at the same time, they are not flexible, while we are. The world said that it was an impossible feat, but this is what made the mission possible in the first attempt.”