From 'Rocket Boys' to 'Captain Vyom': 7 films and TV shows on India's space dreams

This National Space Day (2025), here are narratives that took Indian audiences beyond the Earth.

Mission Mangal (2019)

This blockbuster Bollywood ode to ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission (better known as Mangalyaan) sees Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan make history with a team on a shoestring budget.

Rocket Boys (2022-present)

This gripping series on Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai's roles in advancing India's space dreams features unforgettable performances, a stellar cast, and Achint Thakkar's engaging score.

Rocketry: The Nambi Effect (2022)

This biopic on ISRO aerospace engineer Nambi Narayanan became a box office hit for not just R. Madhavan's strong performance, but also its attempts at realism.

Cargo (2019)

This sci-fi dark comedy film from Netflix—perhaps one of the first of its kind in India—involves a spaceship in which souls of the dead are prepared for reincarnation.

Captain Vyom (1998-1999)

Although DD National's superhero sci-fi TV series is not directly related to space exploration, Milind Soman's Captain Vyom can still be credited with nurturing a generation's dreams to reach space.

India's Space Odyssey (2021)

This documentary film by Discovery+, effortlessly narrated by R. Madhavan, offers an interesting bird's eye view of India's painstaking 6-decade space journey.

Mission Over Mars (2019)

This TV series presented yet another take on India's prestigious Mangalyaan mission, fictionalising certain details to pay homage to the real-life ISRO pioneers behind the mission. It also features a set of moving performances from the main cast.