Do You Know Legendary MG Ramachandran Was The First Indian Actor to Do a Commercial Space Movie Ever? Here’s All About That Film

Legendary Tamil actor and politician MG Ramachandran acted in India's first commercial space film which released before Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.

MGR Was The First Indian Actor to Do a Space Movie: Indian cinema was ahead of Hollywood’s genius minds when it came to thinking out-of-the-box beyond conventional storytelling. While the nation is celebrating the successful landing of Chadrayaan 3, Indian filmmakers and scriptwriters had a vision about outer space before Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg. As India became the first country on August 23, 2023, to land on South Pole of the moon, our cinema has also been in pace with sci-fi and space movies. Much before Kubrick’s cult-classic 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Tamil cinema had already attempted an ambitious film on alien invasion which was ahead of its time.

MGR PLAYED DOUBLE-ROLE IN INDIA’S FIRST SPACE MOVIE

Kalai Arasi (1963), starring MG Ramachandran and Bhanumathi in double-roles was the first Indian sci-fi film based on alien invasion and space travel. It was directed by T. E. Gnanamurthy while the story was written by A. Kasilingam. The film is a testament about Indian artistry’s brave approach towards experimental cinema. The film is about intellectually superior aliens who have progressed in scientific and technological achievements but are lagging behind when it comes to performing arts. The notorious yet good hearted alien Thinna abducts Vani aka Bhanumathi who is the best dancer on planet earth according to them. She is entrusted the responsibility of becoming the dance mentor to the alien princess. Thinna, being the leader of the aliens wants to make sure that his planet doesn’t lag behind when it comes to promoting art and culture. Despite the box office fate of the film, it is a must-watch for students of cinema. The idea of aliens wanting to learn dance makes for an engaging storyline. At a time when there was no advancement in VFX, Kalai Arasi team gave their best shot in create the set design, costumes, spaceship look with the help of skilled technicians.

Kalai Arasi is available on YouTube for free. Do let us know your views on this Tamil sci-fi space movie.