Akshay Kumar, who next features in Mission Mangal, says he was intrigued by the stories of women scientists of ISRO who struck a fine balance between their personal lives and their commitment to the space agency's Mars program.

The Jagan Shakti-directed movie, touted as India's first space film, follows scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), who contributed to the Mars Orbiter Mission. Besides Akshay, the film also features Vidya Balan, Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari and Nithya Menon.

"This is a work of 17 engineers and scientists at ISRO. While listening to so many real stories of women scientists, I found it amazing how they managed their homes while being so incredible at work. Through this film, I want to tell them that they're great. This movie belongs to these five girls, played by Vidya Balan, Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari and Nithya Menon. This is their movie," the actor said in a statement.

Mission Mangal, produced by Cape of Good Films, Hope Productions and Fox Star Studios, is scheduled to be released on August 15 this year.