Akshay Kumar Is Shining In The Mission Mangal Poster – A Movie Based On The Women Behind India’s Mars Mission!

The latest poster of upcoming movie Mission Mangal based on the women who were behind India’s Mars Orbiter Mission is dominated by its lead male star, Akshay Kumar.

Remember in 2014 when our eyes were greeted by pictures of the women who were in the spotlight of the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) by ISRO? Well, we have a movie on it now and the poster doesn’t have the women front and centre on it because – Akshay Kumar sells more tickets.

The poster of Mission Mangal was released on Twitter by Actor Akshay Kumar recently. It’s very inspiring to see a movie based on a scientific development which had a bunch of women involved in it. What is not inspiring to see is wonderful female actors like Vidya Balan and Taapsee Pannu clumped together among all the other actors on one side while Akshay Kumar’s face shines full on the other side.

— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) July 4, 2019

The Mars Orbiter Mission is a big landmark in Indian space research. This project with a very small budget and a single attempt was successful in placing an Indian satellite in the Martian orbit. The mission was lauded by the whole world for its technological achievements.

Taking the spotlight front and centre were the women who were instrumental to the mission. But the poster of Mission Mangal doesn’t look like it’s giving them attention.

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There are 5 leading ladies on this poster.
And one Akshay Kumar.
Guess whose face got the most mileage? #MissionMangal pic.twitter.com/kYzN7l7CMW

— Janice Sequeira (@janiceseq85) July 4, 2019

Don’t judge a movie by its poster?

Indeed, it is a fact that the poster can’t reveal what the movie will be about and how much importance the female leads will be given. Perhaps the film’s trailer and the finished product itself would do much more justice to the women actors featuring in it than the poster does. Still, a poster does set the first tone for the movie.

Many Twitter users are comparing it with the Hollywood movie Hidden Figures which was released in 2016. That movie was based on three African-American women mathematicians who worked at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and went on to play a critical role in the country’s space program. It also starred a famous actor and Academy Award winner Kevin Costner in a pivotal role as the director of the Space Task Group (STG). Notably, the poster of the movie didn’t have him at all.

They're both movies about women's accomplishments. And YET… pic.twitter.com/H3f23AzPDx

— Aavi (@poisonaavi) July 5, 2019

Mission Mangal is also in the same genre and probably, Akshay Kumar will also be seen as the Director of the entire group like Kevin Costner. The difference between the two posters says it all.

Surprisingly, last year in an interview the actor told DNA, “That script demands the women to be ahead of us. They are the real heroes of the mission. Mission Mangal is interesting and inspiring. I’ve no shame in doing a movie that is led by women.” So being the centre of attraction in the poster of a movie that according to him is ‘led by women’ shows how words and actions differ a lot.

Why Akshay?

The easiest way to answer the mystery of why Akshay Kumar gets the maximum space on the poster is the assumption that his face is what the audience will buy!

In June there was a rumor circulating that Akshay Kumar had just a cameo role in the movie which got many of his fans upset. To keep his fans happy and invested in the film the Producer R.Balki cleared this rumor by saying ‘Akshay is the hero of the film. He will be seen for a longer duration than even Kesari’. (Reported by Deccan Chronicle)

This reveals much important it is that Akshay Kumar not be neglected in a movie, even one with a women-oriented script – because he does sell tickets. You know what, the actual culprit over here is the audience and system, not just Akshay Kumar.

It may sound bitter but sadly, this is the truth. We have movies in Bollywood showing the story of women through a man’s eye. Actors get paid more and do more movies than actresses. Directors don’t stop casting 50-year-old actors in big-budget movies just because the movies run on their name cough cough Salman Khan. On the other, you rarely find female actors starring as leads after they turn 35 or 40.

It’s not just in acting – if you see the male to female ratio of writers, directors, technicians, makeup artists, cinematographers then too this male dominance exists. If you don’t agree, then ask yourself how many current female directors and singers you know as compared to their male counterparts, you’ll find the answer right away.

The trailer of the movie is yet to be released and I sincerely hope to see some remarkable performances. Still, it would have been good to see the five female actors have a bigger portion of a film poster to themselves than one male actor.

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