Rocketry–The Nambi Effect: When I first saw Mr Nambi Narayanan, I was reminded of a caged lion, says Madhavan

R Madhavan will be reprising the role of an 80-year-old scientist and Padma Bhushan recipient Nambi Narayanan, in his directorial debut, Rocketry: The Nambi Effect.

A biographical drama, based on the life of the Padma Bhushan awardee, also an Indian Space Research Organisation scientist and aerospace engineer, the film, was released today. Madhavan's directorial debut follows the hardships and tribulations of Nambi Narayanan, who was wrongfully convicted of espionage in 1994.

“The Nambi Effect is more like a poor man's James Bond. When I met Nambi sir in Trivandrum in 2016, he reminded me of a caged lion. He said I was a fantastic actor and I was touched by his words," Madhavan told OTTplay.

The actor-director added, “Later, as we began discussing the futility of that pointless case, Mr Nambi became enraged and asked how he could be branded a traitor. He also requested me to look up his name on Google and see what comes up. More than his job, he was irritated because most articles about him revolved around the case and his arrest.”

Madhavan said he went and met Nambi Narayanan again, after completing the script in seven months. "I found everything about the scientist fascinating. When I came to know of his achievements, I wondered, ‘How can an Indian scientist do all this?’ But, everything was true. He didn't tell the world about things that he had achieved. Mr Nambi had authored two books and I was amazed by his contributions. He is an incredible man.”

Madhavan explained why he chose to tell the story of Nambi Narayanan. “I made Rocketry: The Nambi Effect for two reasons. What happened to a genius like Nambi Narayanan should not happen again to anybody, who loves his country.”

Madhavan expressed his disappointment at how as a film industry, they’ve been making only stories about history and freedom struggle. “They are brilliant ideas. I'm not denying it. But there’s so much to explore science and technology and space research. Those arenas are outstanding. Many people from these domains rule the roost all over the world in various capacities. I want to tell a genius's story from a layman's perspective. The audience should understand what rocket science is. It wasn't easy to produce and direct this film.”

Rocketry: The Nambi Effect also stars Simran Bagga, Rajit Kapur, and Gulshan Grover, besides Shah Rukh Khan (Hindi) and Suriya (Tamil), in cameos.