R Madhavan’s debut directorial venture Rocketry: The Nambi Effect premiered at the 75th Cannes Film Festival on Thursday. It was attended by Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur, composer AR Rahman, and former ISRO Scientist Nambi Narayanan. R Madhavan, dressed in a dapper blue suit, was seen welcoming the dignitaries, as per ANI.
In the film, Madhavan plays former rocket scientist at Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Nambi Narayanan. Head of ISRO’s cryogenics division, Narayanan was falsely accused of espionage and arrested in 1994. All charges against him were dismissed by the Supreme Court in 1998.
Earlier, in a conversation with Variety, Madhavan said that he decided to direct the film because no one else was well-versed with the scientific information that was an essential part of the film. He said, “At that point of time to get somebody to understand rocket science or liquid fuel engine or what rocketry is or what a specific impulse is, or what escape velocity is and how it has to be depicted, a ready director of that caliber in the industry was next to impossible.” He added, “So the choices were – dump the film or take the plunge as a director.”
The actor also mentioned that before Rocketry, he had never even shot a film on an iPhone. He told the publication, “I feel like I’ve done my duty. I feel a sense of pride. I feel that I have set out and achieved what I want to in terms of telling a story.”
Madhavan explained that he had to don various hats while making Rocketry: The Nambi Effect as he was the producer, director, and actor on the project. He said, “I come in as a producer, sort out all the production issues for the day, then I go in as a director and set up, to see what I’ve envisaged and hope to achieve. Then while the lighting happens, the director is thrown out of my body and I become Nambi Narayanan.”
India is the ‘country of honor’ at the Cannes Film Market this year. The Indian delegation, led by Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur, includes AR Rahman, Shekhar Kapur, Urvashi Rautela, Pooja Hegde and Tamannaah Bhatia among others. Indian actor Deepika Padukone is one of the jury members at the festival this year while festival regular Aishwarya Rai Bachchan also walked the red carpet.
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