Mohanlal, Sridevi and Manju Warrier were the first choices, reveals Mission Mangal director

Of late, Bollywood has been more interested in making biopics and real-life inspired films. ‘Mission Mangal’ is the latest such film. Based on Mangalyaan, India’s first interplanetary mission to reach the Mars orbit, the movie is directed by Jagan Shakti. It boasts of a star-studded cast lead by Akshay Kumar. Vidya Balan, Nithya Menen, Tapsee Pannu, Sonakshi Sinha, Sharman Joshi and Kirti Kulhari will be seen in other prominent roles.

As per the makers, ‘Mission Mangal’ is the incredible, true story of a scientist, Rakesh Dhawan, played by Akshay Kumar and Tara Shinde, played by Vidya Balan, who lead a team of scientists who overcame their personal challenges and failures to serve as the brains behind one of the greatest space missions in history – the launch of India’s first satellite to Mars.

Interestingly, director Jagan Shakti initially had Mohanlal and Sridevi in his mind but the roles eventually went to Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan. Likewise, Manju Warrier was the first choice for the character done by Nithya Menen. Jagan revealed these interesting tidbits during a recent interview with a Malayalam media.

The trailer and promo videos of ‘Mission Mangal’ has got great response. The movie is getting ready to hit screens worldwide on the occasion of Independence Day on August 15.