Even Before Chandrayaan-3 Landing, Dara Singh’s Bollywood Film Showed India’s Moon Mission

New Delhi: The entire country is looking forward to historic touchdown of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon’s south pole on Wednesday evening. If the moon mission goes well, India will join the United States, China, and the former Soviet Union as the fourth nation to have mastered the technology of a soft landing on the lunar surface.

India’s first venture onto the surface of the moon is the ambitious mission from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Despite the fact that the momentous event is set to happen in 2023, ‘Chand Par Chadayee’, starring Dara Singh, was one of the first Bollywood films to depict space exploration and lunar mission. T.P. Sundaram and Dara Singh attempted to make a space movie in 1967. The movie was both produced and directed by Sundaram. 

One of the first sci-fi films produced in India was ‘Chand Par Chadayee’. Two years before Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, the movie was released. It was released in English with the title ‘A Trip to the Moon’. The main character of the movie is Astronaut Anand (Dara Singh), who is on a journey to the moon. He is ambushed by moon men before his rocket can take off, and they will do whatever to stop him from achieving his goal. Anand is kidnapped and taken prisoner on their spaceship by them. In addition to Dara Singh, Padma Khanna, G. Ratna, and Anwar Hussain also starred in ‘Chand Par Chadayee’.

Check out a short clip from the movie:

The movie foretold several major inventions besides the lunar landing. In one of the scenes, Simi, played by Padma Khanna, was shown speaking to her leader via video call in the movie. The movie also featured e-mail and machines that resembled modern printers, scanners, and digital cameras. The internet hadn’t even been created at this point. 

Meanwhile, the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s lander carries Vikram Sarabhai’s name, who is widely regarded as the founder of India’s space programme. On Wednesday, at 5:20 p.m. (IST), the live broadcast of the landing operations will start. From 5:27 pm (IST) on August 23, live landing actions will be aired on the ISRO website, its YouTube page, Facebook, and public television network DD National TV.

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