When we think of the sci-fi genre, our mind immediately starts listing the several Hollywood films and series that are made every year. But when it comes to home grown content, one really has to think hard. Yes, there have been films such as the Krrish franchise, Robot franchise, Ra.One (2011) and regional language films such as Tik Tik Tik (2018) and 24 (2016), but the genre never really took off in India.

“From my experience, the benchmark for sci-fi are indeed these big-budget Hollywood films, and their scale actually acts as a stumbling block, as it is tough for local producers to put that kind of money in any home-grown story. Also the Hollywood narratives (superheroes, futuristic world), do not culturally fit in the Indian context, and the early films were tacky imitations of these stories. So, their failure was seen as the genre’s failure,” says filmmaker Arati Kadav, whose debut sci-fi film, Cargo, has been getting rave reviews.

Shailender Vyas, who directed sci-fi web series JL50, agrees that in India, there are not enough home grown sci-fi genre films. “India is very rich when it comes to scientific conclusions. Yet, in the past few years, we have been rejecting logical science treating it as foreign trend. Somewhere, we, too, fail to project this genre,” says Vyas.

Actors are also embracing this genre wholeheartedly now. Actor Shweta Tripathi Sharma, who stars in Cargo, says, “Some films should be seen on the big screen and Cargo is one such film. In theatres, it would have been just magical. But nonetheless, it is a new way forward, and I think, it will pave way for a lot of other filmmakers to get into this genre now more than ever before.”