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Big budget Indian productions such as Koi… mil Gaya (I…Found Someone, dir. Rakesh Roshan 2003), its sequel Krissh (dir. Rakesh Roshan 2006), Love Story 2050 (dir. Harry Baweja 2008) and Krissh 3 (dir. Rakesh Roshan, 2013), all demonstrate that science fiction has become a major box-office draw in India and its diaspora. This chapter traces the literary origins and history of Indian science fiction film. Whilst doing so it also examines the influences, both international and local, which have gone into these productions. The chapter suggests that whilst borrowing heavily from Hollywood and the western science fiction tradition, Indian science fiction cinema is not entirely imitative. As a genre we suggest that it displays a cinematic tradition quite distinct, such as the inclusion of musical numbers, alongside certain significant Indian thematic elements, such as strong religious and Hindu nationalist references. Thus Indian science fiction cinema provides the possibility for not only generating significant revenue for the industry as a whole, but also remonstrating against ‘the homogenising impulses of Hollywood’ (Vasudevan 2000) whilst at the same time imitating its forms and styles.

Big budget Indian productions such as Koi… mil Gaya (I…Found Someone, dir. Rakesh Roshan 2003), its sequel Krissh (dir. Rakesh Roshan 2006), Love Story 2050 (dir. Harry Baweja 2008) and Krissh 3 (dir. Rakesh Roshan, 2013), all demonstrate that science fiction has become a major box-office draw in India and its diaspora. This chapter traces the literary origins and history of Indian science fiction film. Whilst doing so it also examines the influences, both international and local, which have gone into these productions. The chapter suggests that whilst borrowing heavily from Hollywood and the western science fiction tradition, Indian science fiction cinema is not entirely imitative. As a genre we suggest that it displays a cinematic tradition quite distinct, such as the inclusion of musical numbers, alongside certain significant Indian thematic elements, such as strong religious and Hindu nationalist references. Thus Indian science fiction cinema provides the possibility for not only generating significant revenue for the industry as a whole, but also remonstrating against ‘the homogenising impulses of Hollywood’ (Vasudevan 2000) whilst at the same time imitating its forms and styles.