Star Value Is Such: Taapsee on Akshay Ruling Mission Mangal Poster

The poster was criticised for having Akshay Kumar as the focal point over his female co-stars.

A poster for Mission Mangal, which stars Akshay Kumar, Taapsee Pannu, Vidya Balan and Sonakshi Sinha.

Taapsee Pannu has a message for those who have criticised the first poster of Mission Mangal which courted controversy for giving Akshay Kumar a bigger display than his female co-stars Vidya Balan, Sonakshi Sinha and Taapsee herself. "The star value is such. That's a brutal truth that we need to accept and then think that there is no point questioning it. Be the reason to change this truth," Taapsee told PTI at the 10th Jagran Film Festival, that concluded on Sunday, 21 July.

Taapsee said instead of questioning the poster, people need to be the change they want to see. “"The problem is not from this end (the film). The people who are not happy about it, they need to do something because there's a reason behind it,” she said.

The actor plays Kritika Aggarwal, one of the scientists who led India's mission to send a spacecraft to orbit Mars in the film, slated to be released on 15 August. Akshay plays senior ISRO scientist Rakesh Dhawan.

"Had we, the five women actors, not been a part of this film, there would have been some impact on the collections but not that much as the content of the movie would have remained as strong as it is now. There's already a big superstar in the film," she said referring to Akshay.

"We five being a part of it just makes it go higher. But the box office wouldn't have dropped even if we were not in the film. Pick up any of our films, the five ladies, add them together and compare the collection of the opening day of all those films with an Akshay Kumar movie..." she added.

At the trailer launch of the film last week, Akshay addressed the flak that the poster received, assuring the audience that Mission Mangal belongs to its female cast. "This film belongs to these ladies and it will always belong to them," he had said. His co-star Vidya Balan jokingly added that Akshay covers most part of the poster because “men are from Mars.”

Mission Mangal, directed by Jagan Shakti, is based on real-life scientists, who contributed to India's first interplanetary expedition, Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), launched by Indian Research Space Organisation (ISRO) in 2013. Its ensemble cast includes Akshay Kumar, Taapsee Pannu, Vidya Balan and Sonakshi Sinha.

(With inputs from PTI)