In A Galaxy Not So Far Away, 4 South Indian Space Operas Paved The Way For Kalki 2898 AD

The highest-grossing Indian film of the year opens to a grand spectacle of CGI and animation that leaves you staring in awe as Amitabh Bachchan’s hefty voice guides you through the age of the Kurukshetra War. 

Sci-fi continues to be a haven for immersive world-building, and eye-popping spectacle, but the space opera is the genre’s toughest nut to crack. It has a history of being scorned by critics, and dismissed by academics. The term was coined in 1941 by Bob Tucker, who had no kind words to say:

We’ve come a long way from those words. The idea of intergalactic travel has captured our collective imagination, making the subgenre timeless. Filled with theater and melodrama, space operas are as camp as the Met Gala, with as brazen disregard for subtlety as the guests who attend it. While escapist, it’s still a curiously tricky thing to pull off in the modern age.

The film that paved the way for the Prabhas and Deepika Padukone-starrer, 'Kalai Arasi', opens with a distant shot of a bullock cart rolling past fields of paddy. The scratchy black and white frame is quickly replaced by a merry song, ‘Neelavaana pandhalin keezhe, nilamadandhai madiyin mele Kaladevan arasangam nadakudhada.’ (‘Under the blue skies and amidst the seas of the Earth, the people are under the reign of the Lord of time.’) For a film more than half-a-century old, that pioneered Tamil science fiction, the song is oddly spot on.

'Kalki 2898 AD', a Telugu-language epic science fiction film set in a post-apocalyptic world, follows a select group who are on a mission to save lab subject SUM-80’s unborn child. As the most expensive Indian film ever made (a whopping INR 600 crore production budget) starts streaming on OTT, here’s a look back on some South Indian space operas that made it possible. 

In A Kasilingam’s 'Kalai Arasi', the inimitable MN Nambiar plays the alien Dheenan who abducts Vani (P Bhanumathi) and takes her away to his bleak planet in the hope that she will introduce its inhabitants to the wonders of the performing arts. Dheenan is pursued by Mohan (MG Ramachandran), the do-gooder farmer who is in love with Vani.

As the first Tamil film to have played with the notion of extraterrestrial life, Kalai Arasi’s depictions of aliens and earthlings are comical rather than realistic. Clad in shiny tight shorts paired with metal boots, the duo drives their saucer-shaped vehicle past Saturn and Jupiter. Accompanied by delightful sequences of shaky camera movements (indicating the vehicle’s other-worldly movement), and exciting sound effects, outer space comes to life.

You can watch it here.

Directed by Gunnam Gangaraju, the film is a silver screen adaptation of the cult Telugu TV sitcom 'Amrutham'. In this space comedy, Amrutham and Anji, who are usually seen navigating the everyday challenges of life, embark on an improbable and hilarious journey to the moon. Although targeted at kids, the comedy of errors balances clever writing with juvenile fun. 

By combining the sitcom format with a space adventure, 'Amrutham Chandamamalo' proved that sci-fi could be approached from a lighthearted, comedic angle without losing its appeal, opening up new possibilities for genre experimentation. While it may not have the visual grandeur or serious tone of traditional space operas, its light-heartedness and wit make it a standout film.

You can watch it here. 

Inspired by the 1998 Michael Bay film 'Armageddon', this science fiction disaster thriller film follows a magician tasked with saving the Earth from an asteroid hurtling towards India. Known for being able to get out of any situation, he must overcome his lack of prior training to do what he knows best. 

Directed by Shakti Soundar Rajan and starring Jayam Ravi, it blends elements of action, drama, and science fiction, with an emphasis on space exploration and high-stakes adventure. One of the film’s most striking aspects is its ambitious attempt to portray space in a visually compelling manner. Through CGI and special effects, it showcased space sequences, zero-gravity environments, and futuristic technology, creating a spectacle that was largely unprecedented.

You can watch it here.

The plot revolves around Dev (played by Varun Tej), a former astronaut who is called back to duty to prevent a satellite from crashing into Earth. 'Antariksham 9000 KMPH' sets itself apart with its focus on the personal struggles of its characters alongside the larger mission, blending emotion with the high-stakes tension of a space mission. 

Antariksham took a more serious and technically polished approach to science fiction, raising the bar for future projects. By proving that a space-themed film could be produced with high production values and maintain commercial viability, it opened the doors for more ambitious projects within the industry. While critiqued for its scientific inaccuracies, it was praised for making a space mission relatable to a regional audience without compromising on scale or vision.

You can watch it here.

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