Hindustan Times (Patna) - Hindustan Times (Patna) - Live
TOUCHING NEW HIGHS!
As actor Akshay Kumar readies to star in a film based on India’s Mars Mission, we take a look at how a clutch of new Bollywood movies are being made, revolving around the outer space
Of late, Bollywood films have been making conscious efforts to push the stereotypical boundaries. But now, Hindi film-makers seem all set to take the saying, ‘breaking the mould’ to a completely new ‘space’. How else would you explain a number of film stories expanding themselves outside the blue planet’s boundaries for movies that revolve around space?
THE BIG LINEUP
To start with, Akshay Kumar will soon start work on a movie based on India’s Mars Mission that will be produced by R Balki. Titled Mission Mangal, the film will also star Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu, Sonakshi Sinha, Kirti Kulhari, Nithya Menon and Sharman Joshi. That’s not all. Filmaker Nikkhil Advani also has a biopic lined upon Dr K Radhakrishnan, the frmer Chairman of Indian Space and search Organisation (ISRO) and the man behind India’s landmark Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM). Also, Shah Rukh Khan is set to start shooting for Saare Jahaan Se Achcha (SJSA), the biopic of Indian astronaut, Rakesh Sharma, who was the first Indian to travel into space, in 1984.
NEW HORIZONS
Reports are also rife that makers of Chanda Mama Door Ke — which revolves around a team of astronauts whose space mission brings the country together — are making “all the efforts to revive the project”. And if all goes well, it may go on floors early next year. Earlier this year, a Tamil film, Tik Tik Tik portrayed a space traveller, who loses his way in zero gravity during a mission.
Also, R Madhavan stars in Rocketry: The Nambi Effect that’s set in the backdrop of India’s Mars Mission. The actor plays the former Indian Space Research Organisation scientist, Nambi Narayanan, who was arrested and charged with espionage in 1994. The film’s story is based on the story of Narayanan’s fight for justice and struggle of proving his innocence.
EMOTIONAL STUFF
Trade analyst, Taran Adarsh explains: “We have perennially complained that Bollywood film-makers are always stuck on romances and running-around-tree kind of stories. But now, if they are getting out of their comfort zone and trying something absolutely fresh, it should be looked as a step in the positive direction.”
Makers, on their part, are gung-ho about “the emotional” bandwidth of “real people”. “You know, when I read Mr Radhakrishnan’s book, I was really awestruck by his inspirational journey, and that’s when I thought his story needs to be told. My film is completely different from Akshay’s film since it’s a biopic of one man. And Mission Mars is just one chapter of his life,” says Nikkhil.
Balki concurs, saying: “I am not looking at Mission Mangal as just a space film; it’s more of a human story, which is emotionally-charged. The idea is to showcase what people, who worked on this mission, went through to achieve their dream.” SJSA director Mahesh Mathai also admits in an interview that there is a “deeply personal story” behind the mission and “that’s the story I want to tell”.
TOO MANY OF THEM?
Actors, of course, are kicked about exploring a new ‘space’ altogether. For starters, Shah Rukh is believed to be “extremely excited” about portraying Sharma. “He has read about, and looked up to Rakesh Sharma since he was a school boy. SRK is likely to meet him before starting the shoot, sometime around February/March next year,” says an insider. Akshay, on his part, has called Mission Mangal, a “powerful true story of ordinary people with extraordinary dreams”. But the big question is: are there too many movies based in or around space? “I am sure they aren’t going to copy each other. They will have their own content and concepts, so let’s wait and watch,” says Adarsh, while Nikkhil laughs it off saying: “It’s like saying that we should have made only one love story.”