Making 'Mission Mangal' was a big risk: Akshay Kumar

Actor Akshay Kumar says his latest "Mission Mangal" was not an easy project to make as the space genre till now was an uncharted territory in Bollywood.

The Jagan Shakti-directed movie, touted as India's first space film, follows the scientists at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) who contributed to the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM).

The film, featuring Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu, Sonakshi Sinha, Kirti Kulhari and Nithya Menen, released on Independence Day.

"When we are making it, writing it, lots of people had even told us how much business it'll do: 'It'll go till Rs 60-70 crore.' Because this genre is not explored, nobody knows.

"It was a big risk. I had no idea where this film would go and how would people react to science. But it was a risk worth taking," Akshay said in a group interview.

The actor says he was not expecting this kind of response as the film was a first of its kind in the Indian film industry.

"I'm glad this has worked and a new genre has opened up for the film industry. Hollywood makes 14-15 films on science, but this is our first. Just last night, I was pitched a science fiction. Now several films will be made."