Ekta Kapoor on use of wrong rocket in M.O.M poster: Legally bound to not use actual images

The poster of Ekta Kapoor’s recently announced web series M.O.M - Mission Over Mars — inspired by the stories of the women behind India’s successful Mangalyaan mission — features the wrong space rocket, fans pointed out on Twitter.

Kapoor announced the launch of the ALTBalaji show starring Sakshi Tanwar, Mona Singh, Nidhi Singh and Palomi Ghosh on 6 June.

The poster features what appears to be a Russian Soyuz launch vehicle, superimposed with the Indian flag. ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also called Mangalyaan, on the other hand, was launched aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket C25.

Some Twitter users spotted the gaffe and criticised the showrunners’ apparent lack of research into the subject before the poster launch. However, in a statement , ALTBalaji on Wednesday, clarified that the image of the rocket used in the poster was taken for “representation purposes purely”.

Disclaimer #MissionOverMars is a fictional adaptation of the real life heroes at ISRO who worked on Mangalyaan. As per our legal and contractual obligations we cannot use actual names or images of either the people, objects or agencies in any publicity material.

— ALTT (@altt_in) June 12, 2019

It further read, “Our upcoming show is a fictional adaptation of the real life heroes at ISRO who worked on Mangalyaan and set a major milestone putting India firmly on the global map. However, as a strategic call taken by multiple parties, we have gone down the fiction route for this show.

“Additionally, we are legally bound not to use actual names or images of either the people, objects or agencies involved. Keeping in mind our contractual obligations, publicity material of the show was designed,” said the spokesperson.

Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), the maiden interplanetary mission of ISRO, launched on 5 November, 2013, entered the Martian orbit on 24 September, 2014 in its first attempt.

(With inputs from agencies)