The screenings, held at PVR Koramangala Cinemas in Bangalore on September 24 – exactly one year after the space probe entered Mars orbit – were attended by more than 500 guests comprising key members of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), including Dr. S. Arunan, Project Director of the Mars Orbiter Mission, as well as their employees and family members. The movie was presented using Christie Solaria^™ Series 2K digital cinema projectors that meet the expanded needs for choice in display rate, brightness, resolution and cost of operation criteria.

“I would like to thank Fox Star Studios India for organizing this event. It was a great experience watching the movie powered by the Christie projectors on the first anniversary of our monumental achievement of India’s Mars Orbiter Mission. This is a fitting tribute to our years of research and hard work by our members, and resulted in the orbiter’s successful maiden voyage to Mars. This is also a milestone for India’s space program in demonstrating that we can conduct complex missions and act as a global launch pad for commercial, navigational and research satellites,” said Dr. Arunan.

“India has made history with the successful launch and orbit of its first space probe on Mars and this is an extraordinary accomplishment that remains unrivaled by any other country. It is a triumph of the human spirit and this is synonymous with the indomitable spirit of the protagonist in ‘The Martian,’” said Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios. “We are therefore proud to partner with Christie to screen this inspiring film on the first anniversary of India’s Mars orbit using their state-of-the-art digital cinema projectors.”

Rajesh Patkar, Deputy General Manager, Christie India, added, “We are thrilled to collaborate with Fox to organize the premiere of this latest Hollywood film to celebrate the first anniversary of India’s triumphant interplanetary mission. We are also honored that Dr. S. Arunan, who played an instrumental role in the success of this mission, could join us for this premiere. The audiences enjoyed the best possible cinematic presentation with outstanding image quality made possible by the Christie Solaria Series projectors. This is how movies are meant to be shown and we are very pleased to be part of this amazingly immersive cinema experience.”

The Christie Solaria Series is the only DLP^® solution able to provide the world’s most brilliant images, the highest level of content security, the easiest adaptability, operation and maintenance. Fully DCI compliant, and built on Christie’s extensive cinema experience, the Christie Solaria Series is ready for the next evolution of digital cinema; capable of displaying premium 4K content or 2D/3D 2K High Frame Rate (HFR) feature films and alternative content in its original format.

Launched on November 5, 2013 by the ISRO, the Mars Orbiter Mission is India’s first interplanetary mission, which culminated in the successful maneuver of the orbiter around the red planet on September 24, 2014. With this phenomenal feat, ISRO becomes the fourth space agency to reach Mars, after the Soviet space program, NASA, and the European Space Agency. This makes India the first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit, and the first nation in the world to do so in its first attempt.