Mission Mangal director on working in tandem with India's space agency to give shape to Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan-starrer
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; July 31, 2019)

It's not easy for a first-time director to mount a film based on Mars Orbiter Mission, arguably Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) most ambitious project to date. If Jagan Shakti was lucky to find powerful artistes — Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu, Sonakshi Sinha, Nithya Menen, Kirti Kulhari and Sharman Joshi — who believed in his vision, he also credits members of India's premier space agency for helping him tell the story of Mission Mangal.

"My sister Sujata [Krishna] works there, so I did extensive interviews with the team of the Mangalyaan mission. ISRO was helpful in terms of giving us access to the material and scientists. The right balance between the art director and the VFX team helped us design the rocket, which was the most important component of the film. While we had the exact diagrams in possession, we couldn't have designed a similar-looking device," explains Shakti.

Producer Ekta Kapoor's show, based on the same mission, had initially hit a roadblock in 2017 owing to its central theme. Ask him if he faced any hiccups, and he says, "We were keen to shoot in ISRO's premises [in Bengaluru] but they couldn't permit that for security reasons. But most of the key points about the mission are available on their website. In the end, we are making a thematic film with that mission as the backdrop. It's a story about how ordinary men and women, who take the same bus as we do and buy vegetables with us, are capable of being so extraordinary." Quiz him why he didn't design it as a biopic, and he reasons, "The mission was a collective victory, and to attribute its success to one person would not be fair to the rest."

Ever since the sci-fi drama went on floors earlier this year, it has been battling comparisons with the Hollywood gem Hidden Figures (2016), which narrated the true story of three female scientists at NASA in the '60s. "That film was about racism; this film is inspired by the picture of women in sarees and gajras looking thrilled at the mission's launch."

Amid comparisons with Hollywood hit Hidden Figures, writers of Kumar's next to meet women behind the Mangalyaan mission to stay true to India's 2013 space programme
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; November 3, 2018)

Ever since the news of Akshay Kumar reuniting with filmmaker R Balki for a project based on India's Mangalyaan space mission broke, there have been constant references to the Hollywood hit, Hidden Figures (2016; right). In their bid to ensure that their offering remains authentic to those associated with the 2013 space programme, the writers will meet the women behind the mission.

A source reveals, "Hidden Figures was never a reference point. Though both movies may be set against the backdrop of space missions, Hidden Figures revolved around the emancipation of black women mathematicians working at NASA. When the Mars Orbiter Mission became a success, a picture of the women scientists at ISRO celebrating its launch went viral. The Mangalyaan film will focus on these scientists. Currently working on the final draft, the writers' team will meet these scientists and learn about their experiences of working relentlessly on the project. The names of the scientists will be disclosed only when Akshay and Balki officially announce the film."

While Vidya Balan has been approached to play the woman leading the team of scientists, Taapsee Pannu and Nimrat Kaur are in talks to play her team members. The narrative of the yet-untitled film opens in April 2012, which is reportedly when the ISRO team kicked off work on the Mars Orbiter Mission.

"It will capture how ISRO completed the mission in 18 months and launched the satellite on November 5, 2013." The final draft will be submitted in a fortnight, after which it will be sent to the actors for their nod.


The picture of ISRO scientists that went viral