Chandrayaan 3 Makes Soft Landing On The Moon: 7 Indian Films That Depict Exploration In Cinema

Certainly, there are a lesser number of space films made in India, due to their high production costs.

Chandrayaan-3, on August 23, made a historic landing at 6.04 pm, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced. With the remarkable feat, India has become the fourth country – after Russia, the U.S. and China – to land on the moon, and the first to land on one of the moon’s lunar poles.

Now as we all celebrate the success of Chandrayaan 3, check out the list of a few Indian films that you must see to understand how space exploration has been depicted in Indian cinema over the past few decades. Also, it cannot be ruled out that as compared to Hollywood, there are a lesser number of space films made in India, and it has been due to their high production costs.

Check out the list here:

‘Kalai Arasi’ (1963)

A. Kasilingam helmed India's first space film, and it starred MG Ramachandran and P. Bhanumathi Ramakrishna. Even though the film was a success, most people for long were not too keen to explore the sci-fi and space drama genres. The fact that the Indian public was uninformed of scientific breakthroughs also contributed to the producers' decision to not put too much money on a single space film at that time.

‘Chand Par Chadayee’ (1967)

In 1967, T.P. Sundaram and Dara Singh collaborated for a space movie. Sundaram produced and directed the film, and it has since then been lost in the archives because Indian cine goers were mindful of watching scientific breakthroughs on the silver screen at the time.

‘Koi…Mil Gaya’ (2003)

Rakesh Roshan produced and directed the film, which featured Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta, Rekha, Prem Chopra, Rajat Bedi, and Johnny Lever. The film was about a special-needs youngster who discovers his late father's old equipment, which turns out to be a device for communicating with aliens. Soon, he is able to communicate with them while playing with the device, and the other world species decide to pay a visit to their friend. Eventually, how the youngster and the alien help each other forms the crux of the story. The film emerged to be a huge blockbuster.

‘Antariksham 9000 KMPH’ (2018)

'Antariksham', the first Telugu film, made on space was praised for its efforts in presenting the film as a humanistic drama. However, the film never clicked that much at the box-office.

‘Tik Tik Tik’ (2018)

‘Tik Tik Tik’ is one of those space dramas that overdoes everything and makes space flight appear ridiculous. It was a disaster at the box-office and rightly so!

‘Mission Mangal’ (2019)

‘Mission Mangal’ proved to be the first Indian space film to deliver on the promise of an interesting and fulfilling space drama. With the film, the producers attempted to portray a voyage to Mars, and the content and the intention behind making the film can certainly be praised. The performances of Vidya Balan and Akshay Kumar, joined by Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, Sonakshi Sinha, Sharman Joshi and many others, added to the film’s success.

‘Rocketry: The Nambi Effect’ (2022)

Last but not the least, the R. Madhavan-directed featured the actor playing the prominent role of Nambi Narayanan as well. The film is based on the true tale of Nambi Narayanan, an Indian aerospace engineer, and how he was fascinated with bringing India's space exploration program to new heights. The film also showcases his and his team's challenges and thanks all those who supported him through difficult times.