Mission Mangal
U/A; Drama/History
Director: Jagan Shakti
Actors: Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu, Nithya Menen, Kirti Kulhari, Sharman Joshi
Rating: 

This is actually a pretty sweet, syrupy film, in a schmaltzy sort of way, full of Hallmark card type quotable quotes, on success and life, and all that jazz. To a point that you may even forget sometimes that it's entirely a space-mission movie to begin with. And, indeed India's first of its kind.

What kind, specifically? Detailing how scientists at the cash-strapped Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) managed to pull off the world's first take-off to Mars on its maiden attempt, in 2013, and in fact became the first Asian country to do so. The mission was named MOM (Mars Orbiter Mission); in Hindi, Mangalyaan.