Space Gen: Chandrayaan review - Show that fails to find its orbit and crash lands

Space Gen: Chandrayaan humanises ISRO’s journey but suffers from a rushed, one-dimensional execution. Despite Nakuul Mehta’s strong acting, the series lacks depth and feels largely forgettable.

Space Gen: Chandrayaan

Space Gen: Chandrayaan

Space Gen: Chandrayaan story

The dramatic five-part series Space Gen: Chandrayaan on JioHotstar (OTTplay Premium) follows India's high-stakes journey from the tragic failure of Chandrayaan-2 to the momentous success of Chandrayaan-3. As the protagonists, Nakuul Mehta and Shriya Saran, and their committed team of ISRO scientists face the public eye, the COVID-19 pandemic, and cutthroat international rivalry, the story moves away from scientific terms and towards a more humanistic tone. The series captures a journey that seeks redemption for a nation, highlighting the quiet resilience and emotional toll of that endeavour, culminating in the historic soft landing at Statio Shiv Shakti on the moon's southern pole.

Space Gen: Chandrayaan review

There are different ways to evoke patriotism in people's minds through movies and series. Recently, war-related films and triumphs against a neighbouring country have become the norm, but a sense of pride in our country cannot be stopped there and then. There are several other achievers who make us proud and remind us that India is so much on the global level and unmatchable in several fields as well. Back in 2023, the country made history with the successful mission of Chandrayaan-3, which led the satellite to soft land on the Moon's south pole. This victory came after a major setback in 2019 due to the failure of Chandrayaan-2. Space Gen: Chandrayaan is a quick five-episode series on the same subject that begins the "morning after" the failure of the 2019 lunar mission. But did the series also execute its concept effectively? Let's find out...

The series is created by The Viral Fever (TVF), and they are known for humanising every topic they take up, from cracking the struggles of IIT entrance in Kota Factory to a mundane village life and their struggles in Panchayat. This time, they focused on the ISRO scientists involved in a specific mission to remind viewers of the critical importance of their work, which is often unrecognised in public. But the execution is so subpar that the series takes itself too seriously in thinking they did a groundbreaking job in showing the whole mission. However, the series seems purposefully rushed, presenting the entire concept in just five episodes.

ALSO READ: Space Gen: Chandrayaan trailer - Nakuul Mehta and Shriya Saran lead gritty retelling of ISRO’s journey from 2.1km heartbreak to lunar glory

Space: Gen makes a point to be on point regarding the setback as well as the victory of the "Chandrayaan" mission within the span of four years. We see that they covered the years from 2019 to 2023, including the COVID-19 pandemic that took almost a year of people's lives, so to speak. The series primarily consists of a collection of notes presented as scenes, highlighting that the mission failed, the subsequent blame game ensued, and the team was tasked with a follow-up mission that must succeed quickly. However, the treatment felt as if the tight deadline of five episodes was a looming threat; the creators had to include all elements, regardless of whether they had an impact or not.

There are a few moments that definitely stand out, especially those featuring Nakuul Mehta, who plays Arjun, one of the scientists most affected by the mission's failure. Given that he is the protagonist, his backstory has been given more weightage, and it's about him being a son of an army official who lost his life during the Kargil War. In that scene, two army officials remark that the lack of technology led to his death. Thus, Arjun takes it upon himself to be part of a world where he can contribute to the country's technological advancements.

This moment serves as a foundational element for both this character and, frankly, for the entire series. Space: Gen doesn't feature as many actors as Mission Mangal and Mission Over Mars but those two titles made a point of exploring the backstories of each character, which served only a minor purpose in the overall story.

Here, we see a glimpse of Shriya Saran's character Yamini having a daughter who hardly has any dialogues but is seen rolling her eyes most of the time. On the other hand, Danish Sait as Jairam tries to bring some comic relief, but even that's stopped midway, and the character is given some serious business. The sudden change of tone seems abrupt, but it is likely beneficial because Danish Sait is not typecast as a comedian as he is in real life.

In a brief period, the series also addresses mental health issues such as panic attacks, a responsibility that falls on Mehta's character. Space Gen is definitely about the lunar mission, but it's more from the people's perspective on how the ISRO scientists dealt with the public scrutiny, as it was a landmark mission and the whole world's eyes were on them.

The series also features Prakash Belawadi, who becomes the ISRO chief, and even his brief backstory of facing casteist issues is explored sporadically, but I seriously don't know what the intended effect was because it fails to make any. Moreover, Gopal Dutt is seen as a political advisor who is hot-headed, and his base tone is screaming at the top of his voice. The loud acting for the character makes it far less impactful and borderline irritating. This may have been the intended portrayal for the character, but presenting it so overtly makes it unbearable.

The series also includes moments where the media consistently shapes public perception about the mission's failure, focussing on the "setback" rather than acknowledging the effort involved. The ongoing impact of being unforgiving is evident in how even minor events are exaggerated into major issues.

Well, Space Gen directed by Anant Singh, brings the humane side of the whole lunar mission, but unfortunately it's one-dimensional, and the impact also crash lands, making it more forgettable, so to speak.

Space Gen: Chandrayaan verdict:

Ultimately, Space Gen: Chandrayaan is a well-intentioned tribute that struggles to find a stable orbit. While it deserves credit for prioritising the mental health and emotional resilience of ISRO’s scientists over dry technicalities, the execution is hampered by a frantic pace and surface-level writing.

All episodes of Space Gen: Chandrayaan are streaming on JioHotstar (OTTplay Premium).

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