NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore finally returned to Earth on Tuesday (March 18, 2025) after a prolonged nine-month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying the astronauts splashed down off the coats of Tallahassee, Florida, marking an end to their unexpected 286-day mission. They had initially planned to stay at the ISS for about a week but got stranded there in June 2024. Their homecoming felt personal to people around the world. But for Bollywood fans, the capsule's splashdown was extra special — it instantly brought back memories of Shah Rukh Khan's Bauaa Singh returning to Earth from his Mars mission in the 2018 film Zero. ‘Welcome Back, Sunita Williams’: ISRO Chairman V Narayanan Greets NASA Astronaut, Says India Wishes To Utilise Her Expertise in Space Exploration.

SRK Did It First

As the world started celebrating Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore's return to Earth from ISS, a video of their splashdown off the coast of Tallahassee surfaced online. Just days after the duo's unplanned space odyssey ended, a clip from Aanand L. Rai's 2018 comedy-drama Zero, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, and Anushka Sharma, went viral. Shah Rukh Khan's character, Bauaa Singh, who has dwarfism, embarks on a space mission to Mars under the supervision of Aafia Bhinder (Anushka Sharma), a scientist at NSAR, a fictional space research facility.

Viral Video of SpaceX Capsule Dragon’s Splashdown

Bauaa's rocket went missing in space during its return journey, losing connection with the facility. Fifteen years later, a Chinese space station picked up signals from Bauaa's pod, which crash-landed in the Pacific Ocean, revealing he is still alive! A video of this epic scene featuring SRK has surfaced online, with netizens playfully comparing Bauaa Singh's dramatic landing to the recent homecoming of NASA astronauts.

Bauaa Singh’s Epic Return to Earth in ‘Zero’

 

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Perfect Time for ‘Zero’ Re-Release?

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About ‘Zero’

Written by Himanshu Sharma and directed by Aanand L Rai, the movie was produced by Colour Yellow Production in collaboration with Red Chillies Entertainment. The film follows the story of Bauaa Singh, a dwarf man from Meerut who struggles to find a partner for marriage. He falls in love with an NSAR scientist (Anushka Sharma) but later develops feelings for an actress named Babita (Katrina Kaif), creating a complicated love triangle. Despite a unique plot, the movie did not perform well at the box office.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 21, 2025 02:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).