India's lunar blockbuster, Chandrayaan-3, which cost the nation Rs 615 crore, is cheaper than the dud film, 'Adipurush' (budget: Rs 700 crore), and if the amount is converted to US dollars ($75 million), it is cheaper than the two Hollywood movies ruling the global box office today -- Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie' ($145 million) and Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer' ($100 million).

In fact, Nolan's 2013 space movie, 'Interstellar', which is set in the future and features an Indian solar-powered drone, among other spectacular machines, cost $165 million to produce. Note that the budget is not inflation-adjusted.

While on the subject of space travel-inspired film, it may be worth remembering that Ridley Scott's Matt Damon-starrer 'The Martian' (2015) was produced for $106 million.

Chandrayaan-3 is also cheaper than the average listed price of any of the Boeing aircraft, which Air India has recently placed an order for: 737 MAX ($128.25 million each), 787-9 ($292.50 million) and 777.9 ($442.20 million).

Air-India has ordered 220 of these aircraft, and if we check out the prices of the 250 Airbus planes it has sealed the deal for, then also Chandrayaan-3 is cheaper.

An Airbus 320neo is priced at $110.60 million each; Chandrayaan-3 also cost less than an Airbus 321neo ($129.50 million) and is less than a quarter of the price of an A350-1000 ($366.50 million) and A350-900 ($317.40 million).

And if likes were to be compared, then ISRO's ground-breaking mission to the dark side of the Moon, the lunar South Pole, cost way less than Russia's failed Luna 25 (estimated at $200 million or more than Rs 1,600 crore) and of course China's first Chang'e probe (1.4 billion yuan or $219 million).  (IANS)