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{{short description|2019 film directed by Ajay Sarpeshkar}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Mandala: The UFO Incident
| image = Mandala - The UFO Incident.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Ajay Sarpeshkar
| producer =
| writer =
| screenplay = {{plainlist|
* Prakash Belawadi
* Ajay Sarpeshkar
}}
| story = Ajay Sarpeshkar
| starring = {{plainlist|
* [[Anant Nag]]
* [[Prakash Belawadi]]
* [[Kiran Srinivas]]
* [[Sharmiela Mandre]]
* [[Samyukta Hornad]]
* [[Sudha Belawadi]]
}}
| music = '''Score:'''<br />Jesse Clinton<br />'''Song'''<br />[[Raghu Dixit]]
| cinematography = Manohar Joshi
| editing = Ramisetty Pavan
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|2023|03|10|ref1=<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.filmcompanion.in/features/quick-reads/ajay-sarpeshkars-next-mandala-the-ufo-incident-release-date-out|title=Ajay Sarpeshkar’s Next Mandala: The UFO Incident Release Date Out|first=Team|last=FC|date=2 February 2023|website=www.filmcompanion.in}}</ref>}}
| country = India
| language = Kannada
| budget =
| gross =
| studio = Ajay Sarpeshkar Films
}}
'''''Mandala: The UFO Incident''''' (previously titled as '''''Mysore Masala: The UFO Incident''''') is a 2023 Indian [[Kannada]]-language [[science fiction]] [[action film]] directed by Ajay Sarpeshkar.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/lEOHUJjE5EORuOUqnVIlUK/Mysore-Masala-of-aliens-and-abductions.html|title='Mysore Masala': of aliens and abductions|last=Bagchi|first=Shrabonti|date=2018-12-21|website=www.livemint.com|language=en|access-date=2019-04-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Mysore Masala: The UFO Incident - Cosmos |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/metrolife/metrolife-lifestyle/mysore-masala-touches-upon-magic-of-the-cosmos-759954.html |website=Deccan Herald |date=8 September 2019 |publisher=Deccan Herald}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/sunday-herald/exploring-inner-space-713685.html|title=Exploring inner space|date=2019-01-20|website=Deccan Herald|language=en|access-date=2019-04-06}}</ref> The film stars [[Anant Nag]], [[Prakash Belawadi]], [[Kiran Srinivas]], [[Sharmiela Mandre]], and [[Samyukta Hornad]] with [[Mandeep Roy]], [[Sudha Belawadi]], Neenasam Ashwath and Kiran Naik in supporting roles. The film explores science fiction as a tangent to the [[Roswell incident]], and in an Indian context touching upon heritage and its conservation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/metrolife/metrolife-move/inspired-heritage-ajay-comes-689158.html|title=Inspired by heritage, Ajay comes up with sci-fi saga|date=2018-08-24|website=Deccan Herald|language=en|access-date=2019-04-06}}</ref>

Being the final posthumous film of Mandeep Roy, the film was dedicated in his honour.

==Plot==
Maya Melukote is an aerospace engineer who works for the Bharat Space Research Agency (BSRA) under Dr. Sathya Prakash. She secretly works on a mission without the knowledge of her coworkers tracing the existence of alien life. After Prakash finds out, he fires her from her job.<ref name="T"/> She still continues her research and is soon abducted right in front of her boyfriend Arjun Aralikatte (who is from [[Johnson Space Center|Houston]]) by a UFO when she nears [[Chamundi Hills]], a place where aliens were reportedly clash landed prior to India's independence.

Arjun calls Prakash, who repeatedly denies Arjun's claim that she was abducted by a UFO. The case of Maya's disappearance is later handled over to the police led by DCP Radhika with Arjun as the main suspect.

Arjun, now embroiled in a police case, which further gets complicated since he is an American national decides to tell the media about the interesting story regarding Maya's disappearance. Reporter Tanvi Singh tells him about journalist Ram Murthy aka 'Nutcase' Murthy' and Arjun seeks refuge in Murthy's house.<ref name="T"/> Murthy was known for reopening old cases and was well aware of the [[Roswell incident]] and other similar disappearance cases similar to Maya's.

Radhika offers Arjun a trip back to America, but he denies the offer since he wants to find Maya and is confident that he saw her disappear via a UFO.

While at first it was thought that Maya was abducted by a UFO, it is later indirectly revealed that she is safe and likely that Dr. Sathya Prakash abducted her along with his team as he didn't want her to have access to top-secret information.

Arjun is later abducted by a UFO, which is also likely to be by Prakash. At the end of the film, his real name is revealed to be Nikhil "Nik" Prasad and that he went to India from America as part of a covert operation. The full name of ''Mandala: The UFO Incident'' (relating to Maya's disappearance) is revealed to be Bherunda Mandala.<ref name="S"/>

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Anant Nag]] as Ram Murthy
* [[Prakash Belawadi]] as Dr. Sathya Prakash
* [[Kiran Srinivas]] as Arjun Aralikatte
* [[Sharmiela Mandre]] as Maya Melukote
* [[Samyukta Hornad]] as DCP Radhika
* [[Mandeep Roy]] as Head Constable Raju{{efn|His full name was revealed to be Rajanna.}}
* [[Sudha Belawadi]] as Yashodha, Murthy's wife
* Dimpy Fadhya as Tanvi Singh
* Naresh Narasimhan as Commissioner Narasimha Rao{{efn|Although the character was unnamed in the end credits, the name was revealed in the film.}}
* Neenasam Ashwath as Inspector Ashok Galagali{{efn|Despite his character's first name being revealed, he is listed in the credits by its last name.}}
* Spoorthi Gumaste as Reporter Anjali
* Kiran Naik as Constable Hanumanthu{{efn|Nicknamed "Kum-Ka" (based on [[Kumbhakarna]]) by Raju due to his frequent naps.}}
* Samanvita Shetty as Namitha
* Gundanna as 'Rocket' Thatha
}}

== Production ==
The film, initially titled ''Mysore Masala'', was later renamed to ''Mandala''. Anant Nag, the veteran actor of India known for his contributions to the [[Kannada film industry]], was signed on to play a crucial role of an eccentric journalist. Prakash Belawadi plays the role of Dr. Satyaprakash, the head of a space research agency. Sharmiela Mandre, Samyukta Hornad and Kiran Srinivas play roles that are urban and savvy. Production management was handled by Cinematrix, a Bangalore based company headed by Pradeep Belawadi.

=== Post-production ===
Post-production efforts were spread across multiple cities. Mumbai for sound design by Nithin Lukose, Los Angeles for music by Jesse Clinton, Singapore for visual effects by Oliver Elvis, supported by CG artefact design by Manojna Bellur and editing by 24Post studio.

The film had a presence at the [[Comic Con India|ComicCon]] 2018 event at Bengaluru. At the event, the team mentioned having designed and built their own VFX elements such as a spaceship, rocket launch metrics, alien scripts, etc. for the film.<ref name="T">{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/movies/news/mysore-masala-preview-at-comic-con-bengaluru/articleshow/66677592.cms|title=Mysore Masala preview at Comic Con Bengaluru|newspaper=The Times of India|date=18 November 2018|first=Sandra Marina|last=Fernandes|language=en|access-date=19 September 2019}}</ref>

The title of the film was changed to ''Mandala''. This change was announced on all of the film's social media channels on Jan 9th 2022. The Director/Producer mentioned that the change reflected what the film had become.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Register|url-access=subscription|url=https://m.vijaykarnatakaepaper.com/imageview_129673_32835797_4_2_11-01-2022_0_i_1_sf.html|access-date=2023-09-28 |website=m.vijaykarnatakaepaper.com}}</ref>

== Soundtrack ==
The soundtrack consists of a song composed by [[Raghu Dixit]] and a score by Jesse Clinton.
{{Track listing
| headline = Track listing<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.jiosaavn.com/album/neenillade-from-mandala-the-ufo-incident/PahDVk0jY5k_ |title=Neenillade (From "Mandala - The UFO Incident") |date=6 March 2023 |website=[[JioSaavn]]}}</ref>
| extra_column = Singer(s)
| title1 = Neenillade
| extra1 = Raghu Dixit
| lyrics1 = [[Vasuki Vaibhav]]
| length1 = 5:44
| total_length = 5:44
}}

== Reception ==
Harish Basavarajah of ''[[The Times of India]]'' rated the film 3/5 stars and concluded, "Although the climax of the movie is a bit confusing, it is a thriller and is worth watching".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/movie-reviews/mandala/movie-review/98547987.cms|title=Mandala Movie Review : A sci-fi thriller that keeps you hooked|work= The Times of India}}</ref> Prathibha Joy of ''[[OTTplay]]'' rated the film 3.5/5 and wrote, "Give ''Mandala…'' a watch this week, just don’t go in expecting Hollywood level production quality and visuals. Ajay has tried his best and his best is not bad".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ottplay.com/review/mandala-the-ufo-incident-review-ajay-sarpeshkar-boldly-goes-where-no-one-else-has-with-this-sci-fi-tale/3c45e0d476551|title=Mandala The UFO Incident review: Ajay Sarpeshkar boldly goes where no one has|website=OTTPlay}}</ref> Shashiprasad S M of ''The South First'' gave the film the same rating and wrote, "''Mandala: The UFO Incident'' is tailor-made for those who love sci-fi movies and that they love anything to do with extra-terrestrials — UFOs and aliens".<ref name="S">{{Cite web|url=https://thesouthfirst.com/entertainment/mandala-the-ufo-incident-movie-review/|title=Mandala: The UFO Incident is a one-of-a-kind sci-fi thriller in Kannada written and picturised brilliantly|first=Shashiprasad S.|last=M|date=10 March 2023|website=The South First}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{noteslist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|9604202}}

[[Category:2023 films]]
[[Category:UFO-related films]]
[[Category:Indian science fiction drama films]]
[[Category:Films shot in Bengaluru]]
[[Category:Films shot in Mysore]]

Mandala: The UFO Incident - Revision history

BGRDoreen32 at 07:30, 30 July 2025