And now, US-Russia space movie race

Given the long history of rivalry between the US and Russia (especially during the latter’s USSR avatar), it is not surprising that the arms race and space race have been succeeded by the space movie race. Ever since Tom Cruise announced this May his intention to shoot part of his new film aboard the International Space Station (ISS) with Nasa’s help, hitching a ride there on Elon Musk’s SpaceX vehicle in late 2021, people were waiting for a commensurate response from Moscow.

This week’s announcement that a Russian feature film — pointedly named ‘The Challenge’ — would be shot on the ISS but with a female protagonist was, therefore, expected. Although a nationwide search for the female lead is on the cards and the rest of the cast also remains unknown, a cameo role by the Russian president in such a historic production should probably not be ruled out.

The two productions could, of course, consider a collaboration given the implicit synergy of the movies being scheduled to be filmed around the same time on ISS, with the scripts and actors still to be decided. But, mind it, both countries’ film crews in this space race could well be beaten to the finish line by a dark horse from India: Rajinikanth. An 'Enthiran 3.0' aboard the ISS should never be ruled out, especially as he would not even need a rocket to reach there.