Akshay Kumar is once again ready to stoke patriotic fervor with the Independence Day release Mission Mangal. The much-awaited project has left everyone intrigued ever since its posters and teaser released. Based on India’s Mars Mission of 2014, the Jagan Shakti directorial also stars Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu, Sonakshi Sinha, Nithya Menen, Kirti Kulhari and Sharman Joshi.
Mission Mangal 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.
Akshay plays a senior scientist in the film. He said in a statement, “I get inspired when a film like this happens in front of me. What a brilliant story this is, inspired by a real incident. Few people know NASA sent a satellite to Mars spending close to Rs. 6000 crore and ISRO did it in only Rs. 450 crore. Just see the difference. A little common sense and we saved a lot of money. Can you believe this story has not been told yet? I wanted to tell it and that’s why I came on board.”
Mission Mangal has been produced by Cape of Good Films, Hope Productions and Fox Star Studios.
Also Read | Mission Mangal trailer: Akshay and co. presents the tale of India’s mission to Mars
"I don't want to say anything. I would rather do something about it. I have done what I wanted to do. But this reminds me that I need to tell you that our film is releasing on August 15th, 2019 and ISRO had also started on August 15th, 1969. It is a coincidence, but it means a lot to us," says Akshay Kumar.
On being asked if Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make a cameo appearance in Mission Mangal, Akshay Kumar said, "Don't listen to rumours."
"I must add that in my limited exprience, I have not seen a more tantrum-free, professional, loving and warm set than the set of Mission Mangal. I would like to give credit to Vidya, Jagan, Akshay and all of them put together for creating that for all of us to give our best and come together to create something like Mission Mangal," says Kirti Kulhari.
"I like being around male energy but I must say that this was so much fun. You know this is speculated, 'Oh there are five actresses. Don't know what will happen!' But I can say this with utmost honesty that we all are very secure actors. That's why we were appreciating each other. The only person that we had a problem was this guy (Akshay) when he didn't bring food for us," says Vidya Balan.
"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," says Akshay Kumar.
"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," says Akshay Kumar.
"I have a lot of money. A couple of days ago, I had seen a picture of a woman taking her child out of the house because of the floods. I felt so thankful that we don't have to face all this. But it can happen with anyone of us. I don't like only reacting on Twitter. Stop tweeting about it please. We need to act on it. We need to do our bit," says Akshay Kumar.
"It is wrong to think that I had the exclusivity. More films are being made and the date belongs to everyone who wishes to release their film on that date," says Akshay Kumar.
"As John had said, 'Make some noise for Desi boys'. We have only 52 weeks in a year and more than 100 films are coming in a year. We are friends, so there is no problem in coming together with our films. Nobody should be blamed for it. Now 2-3 films are coming together. In the future, we will have even more films coming together," says Akshay Kumar.
"Mission Mangal celebrates the spirit of womanhood. It was such an amazing team to work with," says Sonakshi Sinha.
"This film is about the women and it will always be. I have said this before and will always maintain that it is a film about these women," says Akshay Kumar.
"I had a great experience in Bollywood. I am so glad that Mission Mangal is my first Bollywood film. I always wanted to do a good film and I loved working on this film. The team is great. We used to eat together. Akshay sir used to get food for us all. This was such a warm experience. I felt very welcomed," says Nithya Menen.
"Mission Mangal is not an offbeat film. It is an unusual but very important subject. This is a 100% entertaining film. Every parent would want to take their children to watch this film as it is such an important film. An important part of Indian science and histroy," says Fox Star Studios CEO Vijay Singh.
"The first time I heard about the way Mangalyaan was carried out, I had goosebumps. Jagan sir's sister is a scientist, so we got a lot of insight from her too," says Akshay Kumar.
"I have not felt more proud than this before. With this kind of budget and passion, it is a moment of pride for us," says Sonakshi Sinha.
"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 crore and this was less than that, so we are so proud," says Akshay Kumar.
"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," says Akshay Kumar.
"We for sure can't show all the achievements of those women scientists because it is just a two-hour film. And we have to fictionalise a bit," says Taapsee Pannu.
"If you Google, you will see a picture of a group of women scientists from ISRO smiling and feeling proud after sending the orbiter to Mars. We have tried to recreate that picture too," says Sonakshi Sinha.
"When it comes to women, it has been believed that they are intellectually inferior, but the moment we sent the orbiter to Mars that thought was gone. Women are shown as equals in Mission Mangal," says Kirti Kulhari.
"After Mangalyaan, the picture of those women celebrating had stayed with me. These were regular women. That showed that women scientists' contribution was equal to male scientists. Mission Mangal represents that," says Vidya Balan.
Sharing what grabbed her attention when India's Mars Mission happened in 2014, Taapsee said, "When it (MOM) actually happened, I remember one line, that 'India sent its satellite to Mars in one third of the budget of the film Gravity.' That stuck with me."
Introducing Vidya Balan as the project director in the film, Akshay said she plays a very important role. While Sonakshi is in charge of the Propulsion Control, Taapsee takes care of Navigation and Communication. Akshay said Kirti, who is in charge of Program Autonomy, gave a lot of inputs during the filming of Mission Mangal.
Akshay called Nithya Menen as "one of the finest actor we have in our industry now". The actor plays the Satellite Designer in the film. He introduced H. G. Dattatreya as a Structural Designer, while Sharman Joshi as the one in charge of Payload.
Akshay himself plays the Mission Director.
"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," says Akshay Kumar.
"Mission Mangal is entertaining film. It is for the entire family. It will make you laugh, smile and cry," says Fox Star Studios CEO Vijay Singh.
"Mission Mangal is a wonderful, inspiring real story. This story deserves to be shared with everyone,” Taapsee Pannu told PTI.
Sonakshi Sinha tweeted, "All propulsion and fuel systems are in place. #MissionMangal Trailer is ready to be launched at 1330 hours. @AkshayKumar @vidya_balan @TheSharmanJoshi @taapsee @menennithya @IamKirtiKulhari @Jaganshakti @foxstarhindi #HopeProductions"
Taapsee Pannu wrote on Twitter, "Communication established with onboard satellite. #MissionMangal Trailer will be good to go at 1:30PM today. @AkshayKumar @SonakshiSinha @vidya_balan @TheSharmanJoshi @menennithya @IamKirtiKulhari @Jaganshakti @foxstarhindi #HopeProductions"
Akshay Kumar posted on Twitter, "We are good to go with #MissionMangal trailer launch at 13.30 hours. I repeat we are good to go with #MissionMangal Trailer launch at 13.30 hours. @taapsee @SonakshiSinha @vidya_balan @TheSharmanJoshi @menennithya @IamKirtiKulhari @Jaganshakti @foxstarhindi #HopeProductions"