Mission Mangal shoot takes off, to hit the screen on Independence day 

The shooting of Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan's upcoming film, Mission Mangal, started in Mumbai today. The film also stars Taapsee Pannu, Sonakshi Sinha, Nithya Menen, Kriti Kulhari and Sharman Joshi. Based on the successful 2014 Mars Orbital Mission conducted by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Mission Mangal is directed by Jagan Shakti and co-produced by R Balki.

The makers are aiming to release the film on Independence Day, 2019. Earlier this week, US-based filmmaker Radha Bhardwaj had filed a copyright infringement suit against the producers of Mission Mangal claiming that the film's subject was copied from her script, Space MOMs.

On Friday, Taapsee Pannu shared the first look of her character from Mission Mangal. Taapsee plays the role of Kritika Agarwal, a woman scientist at ISRO working in the navigation and communication department.

R Balki and Akshay Kumar previously collaborated on the social-drama film, Padman. Akshay Kumar's upcoming release is the Rajinikanth-starrer science-fiction film, 2.0.