Face of Nation : Akshay Kumar on Thursday revealed that the first time he heard about the way Mars Orbiter Mission or Mangalyaan was accomplished, he had goosebumps. The actor was speaking at the trailer launch of Mission Mangal in Mumbai. The upcoming film is based on India’s Mars Mission of 2014, and also stars Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu, Sonakshi Sinha, Nithya Menen, Kirti Kulhari and Sharman Joshi.
Akshay said, “Mission Mangal is a film on science. I am very proud that we have made the first film on the achievement of Indian space science. Please take your children to watch the film. It is a very inspiring film. We have shown home science theories like the hot oil while frying puris or the slingshot theory, it is all true. This mission was possible because of the home science theories.”
The Jagan Shakti directorial tells the story of scientists at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) who contributed to the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), which marked India’s first interplanetary expedition. Dedicating the film to all the women who were behind the massive project, Akshay said, “This film is about the women and it will always be.”
Akshay Kumar, who plays the Mission Director in Mission Mangal, shared how he had limited knowledge about Mangalyaan costing only 450 crores. “We didn’t have that much knowledge about Mars Orbiter Mission before we started working on the film. But slowly we came to know a lot, and it is because of Jagan. Mangalyaan cost only 450 crores. NASA spent more than 6000 crores. My film 2.0 had a budget of 500 crores and Mangalyaan was less than that. So, we are so proud,” he said.
With films like Airlift, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Padman, Gold and Kesari, Akshay has become the face of patriotic and social issue-based films. Reacting on the same, he shared, “If such an important script comes to me, how can I not be a part of it? There is such a great cast. Bringing five female actors together was such a difficult task. I had to do the film.”
“We all need to experiment in life. As actors, directors or anyone, we need to experiment. If we don’t experiment in life, we won’t succeed. Our personal thought will not grow. To grow in life, we need to experiment. To find a new thing, we need to always be observant,” the actor added.
Calling Mission Mangal the film he is most proud of, Akshay Kumar said, “Mission Mangal is based on a true story. This is director Jagan’s first film. I have known him for a very long time. He used to assist AR Murugadoss and R Balki too. He is the guy who brought the story to me and told me all about ISRO. I don’t know if our film will be a hit or not, but as I have told all my colleagues, we will always be very proud of the film. I have done around 150 films, but this is the film I am most proud of.”
