As India’s space agency prepares to make history by landing on the Moon later this week, many of the country’s citizens have been left in stitches after footage of an apparent moonwalk went viral.

Just days before India’s lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 touches down on the Moon’s south pole on September 7, Baadal Nanjundaswamy, a famous Indian street artist, stole all the headlines with a wry takedown of the city council in Bengaluru.

Nanjundaswamy enlisted the help of theater actor and film star, Poornachandra Mysore, who helped stage a tongue-in-cheek ‘moonwalk’ to highlight the pockmarked pavement plaguing the city’s streets.

At approximately 10pm local time on Saturday, Mysore donned a silver space suit tailored by a local costume designer and began his hike across the ‘lunar surface.’

“The entire thing was shot on a mobile phone camera, no additional lights were used. So naturally, I didn’t expect it to turn out the way it did,” Nanjundaswamy said, adding that it cost approximately Rs 8000 ($111) to shoot the video.

Also on rt.com One step closer to the Moon: Indian lander successfully separates from Chandrayaan-2 spaceship

The street artist was swamped with messages of praise online with many thanking and congratulating him on his “wonderful... unique way of expressing our protest,” and “the creativity of this team for exposing the potholes in a very unique way.”

“Initially I thought ISRO sent a man to moon. Nope... It’s our Bengaluru Road. Thanks for BBMP and Contractors,” wrote one fan.

Nanjundaswamy is well-known for similar stunts aimed at pressuring local politicians to do more to improve their constituencies.

In 2015, he planted a life-sized crocodile in a 12-feet-long pothole in north Bangalore in a stunt which ultimately forced officials to fix the gaping void.

And in 2017, he turned a roadside crater into a fantasy scene, complete with a stunning mermaid.

Like this story? Share it with a friend!