The genre of
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
has been prevalent in the
Indian film industry since the second half of the 20th century. Beginning in 1952, the English-Tamil film ''
Kaadu'' was made, which was an Indian-American co-production.
The 1963 Tamil film ''
Kalai Arasi,'' 1965
Telugu film ''
Dorikithe Dongalu'', and 1967 Hindi film ''
Chand Par Chadayee'' also have science fiction in their storyline. ''
The Alien'' was a
science fiction film
Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...
under production in the late 1960s which was eventually cancelled. The film was being directed by Bengali
Indian director
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...
and produced by
Hollywood studio
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
. The script was written by Ray in 1967, based on "Bankubabur Bandhu", a
Bengali story he had written in 1962 for ''
Sandesh'', the Ray family magazine.
In 1987, the
superhero film
Superhero film/movie is a film genre categorized by the presence of superhero characters, individuals with extraordinary abilities who are dedicated to fighting crime, saving the world, or helping the innocent. It is sometimes considered a sub ...
''
Mr. India'' was a huge success, which strengthened the hold of sci-fi films in India, especially
Hindi cinema
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...
. ''Indiatimes Movies'' ranks the movie amongst the ''Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films''.
''Mr. India'' brought the idea of science fiction to the general population in India.
The 1991
Telugu film ''
Aditya 369'' was the first
time travel film made in India.
The film explored
dystopia
A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmen ...
n and
post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...
themes in a satirical manner.
It was a critical and commercial success and is considered a landmark film in the science fiction genre in Indian cinema.
In 2003, the blockbuster film ''
Koi... Mil Gaya'' marked the beginning of the successful
''Krrish'', which is the first sci-fi/superhero film series in Indian cinema.
(2018) and ''
Kalki 2898 AD
''Kalki 2898 AD'' () is a 2024 Indian Telugu language, Telugu-language Epic film, epic Mythological film, mythological Science fiction film, science-fiction film co-written and directed by Nag Ashwin. Produced by Vyjayanthi Movies, it features ...
'' (2024), in the sci-fi genre, have emerged as the
most expensive Indian films.
List of films
The following list contains the names of the Indian science fiction films released since 1952. Early 21st century has seen the release of more than 30 such films, compared to the previous 14, there is less info about it now they Indian film classics.
Space Opera films
The following are the list of
space opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes Space warfare in science fiction, space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, i ...
science fiction films.
Others
See also
*
Cinema of India
The cinema of India, consisting of Film, motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various #Cinema by language, film indus ...
*
Bengali science fiction
*
Indian military fiction
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shahenshah (1988 film)
Science and technology in India