Ekta Kapoor joins Akshay Kumar in space race

Ekta Kapoor and Akshay Kumar

Akshay Kumar may have begun shooting for Mission Mangal, but he isn't the only one to be fascinated by the Mars Orbiter Mission. Ekta Kapoor had announced the digital offering, Mangalyaan - based on the same subject - last year, but the show was put on the backburner after the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) expressed its reservation. Now, encouraged by the announcement of Mission Mangal, we hear Kapoor has revived the series.

A unit hand recounts how the show - which was to be helmed by Nupur Asthana then - had hit a roadblock soon after Kapoor had visited ISRO in Bengaluru last year as part of the research.

"Two months after Ekta announced Mangalyaan, ISRO appointed its new chairman [K Sivan]. He raised multiple objections against the series, including its name - ISRO wasn't comfortable with a series bearing the name of their mission. Moreover, they wanted greater autonomy on the material than the production house was comfortable with."

However, she picked up the discussion with the organisation's officials last month. "Ekta has decided to fictionalise the story with the mission serving as the backdrop. She also informed them that she will rechristen the show. Following this, ISRO has given her a go-ahead. But, the delay has resulted in Nupur moving on from the project."

The show is likely to roll by March. Kapoor remained unavailable for comment.

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