Our Bureau
Houston, TX
The movie is designed in a way to inspire curious minds towards science and technology, and space exploration, as well as to spark imagination.
Indian-American director Ajay Sarpeshkar’s debut movie Mandala: The UFO Incident is slated for release in the US on May 19. The debutant film maker, an engineering graduate, actively raised funds for his sci-fi creation, and single-handedly wrote the screenplay, directed, and produced the film.
The UFO Incident is the first instalment of the Mandala trilogy. The premise of the two-hour film revolves around the male protagonist named Arjun who is looking for his girlfriend, a rocket scientist. Arjun believes that his girlfriend was kidnapped by a UFO and turns to a retired investigative journalist for help to solve the mystery and find his lover.
Sarpeshkar, who shuttles between Houston and Bengaluru, India, aims to highlight the importance of culture and heritage conservation with this movie. “It highlights how our cultural roots and traditions can provide a solid foundation as we venture into the unknown realms of space, providing us with a sense of identity and belonging,”
The film’s extensive special effects have been post-produced in world-class facilities in Singapore, France and the USA.
Despite Covid-19 being a major hiccup, the director and multiple global teams from Southeast Asia, the U.S., India, and Europe worked together to bring the movie which is replete with visual effects to life. Sarpeshkar was a technical expert for a long time before, during, and after his graduation. While filmmaking was never plan A, the University of Arizona and Bangalore University alum pursued it alongside photography to satisfy his creative side, the culmination of which is the Mandala trilogy.
According to Sarpeshkar’s website, the movie is designed in a way to inspire curious minds towards science and technology, and space exploration, as well as to spark imagination. The movie, deemed fit for audiences of all ages, will release in select theatres across 16 U.S. cities including Dallas, Seattle, Albany, and Tampa.
The movie features Prakash Belawadi, last seen in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Pathaan. Actors Anant Nag, Kiran Srinivas, Sharmiela Mandre, and Samyukta Hornad also feature in the cast.
