Rocketry Review: Watch this film to salute the incredible and shocking journey of one of our greatest ISRO Scientist Nambi Narayanan
Rocketry Movie Rating: 4 Stars
Just watched Rocketry: The Nambi Effect movie in Hindi on Voot Select. Let’s focus on the complete details, story, positive/negatives and at last my personal view on this movie.
Cast: R. Madhavan, Simran Bagga, Shahrukh Khan and Rajit Kapur
Director: R. Madhavan
Release Date: 1st July 2022 in Cinemas & Digital premiere on 29th July on Voot Select
Story: It is the story of ISRO Scientist Nambi Narayanan who was falsely accused of espionage and arrested by the Kerala police. Films begins when superstar Shahrukh Khan interviewing Nambi Narayanan (R Madhavan).
In the 60’s, Nambi was working in ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) as a technical assistant under Vikram Sarabhai (Rajit Kapur). He gets admission to the prestigious Princeton University in 1969 and hence moves to New Jersey, USA. It’s his dream to do his thesis under Professor Crocco (Vincent Riotta). Under Professor Crocco and by studying at Princeton, Nambi gains a lot of knowledge about liquid gases.
He gets an offer from NASA but he rejects it so that he can return to India and take ISRO to dizzying heights. Thanks to Nambi, ISRO manages to get hydraulic engine parts for free from Rolls Royce. He also accompanies a team of ISRO scientists to France to help them in their space mission. In turn, Nambi and the scientists further learn about space technology. During the fall of the USSR, Nambi tries his best to secure cryogenic fuel-based engines at a lower price.
On November 30, 1994, everything changes in Nambi Narayanan life as he is arrested by the Kerala police out of the blue and accused of espionage. His family is ridiculed and faces social boycott. How Nambi fights back and is finally pronounced not guilty by the Supreme Court forms the crux of the drama. The apex court even orders the Kerala government to pay him compensation of Rs. 50 lakh within eight weeks. The government of Kerala, however, decides to give him Rs. 1.30 crore by way of compensation but even four years later, Narayanan is yet to get a major part of the compensation.
Positives
1. Excellent Performances
2. Story
3. Direction
4. Climax
5. Cinematography
Negatives
1. Screenplay
2. Music
3. Technical Aspects
Durgesh Tiwary’s View: When I watched the trailer of this film planned to watch this movie on premiere day because trailer is based on real life story of Nambi Narayanan whose story is lesser known to everyone.
A biographical drama based on the life of ace aerospace engineer Nambi Narayanan who was framed of being a spy and arrested in 1994. Though free, he is still fighting for justice, with those police officials who have falsely implicated him, still free. The story spans across Narayanan’s days as a graduate student at Princeton University, before exploring his work as a scientist and the false espionage charges placed upon him.
Rocketry story is quite promising and makes for a great film. The writing is such that one gets involved in Nambi’s journey and also moved by the hardships he faces when he’s falsely accused of being a traitor. The first half, however, could have been better written. In the first half, however, a lot of technical jargon is used, and it could have been avoided. Madhavan debut directorial is excellent and he has handled a few scenes exceptionally. His choice of subject is also too good as not much is known to the audience about this great man. Audiences would be surprised to know that Nambi Narayanan had worked with APJ Abdul Kalam and that he had left Neil Armstrong and Cleaver Hughes, Rolls Royce CEO, impressed. Also, the fact that such a genius had to suffer for more than two decades over a frivolous case will leave viewers stunned and even agitated.
The first half is weaker, and the use of complex rocket science language will leave audiences scratching their heads. The second half is better as it focuses on the struggles of the Nambi family after the traitor charges were levelled on him. However, even here, several questions are left unanswered. A few sequences that stand out in the first half are Nambi wooing Professor Crocco, Nambi proving to Professor Chokmark that he was wrong and Nambi hiding from Unni about the latter’s son’s death. The intermission point is exciting. Post interval, Nambi’s interrogation scenes stand out. The same goes for the scene where Unni comes to meet Nambi in the lockup. The finale, showing the real Nambi Narayanan, is touching.
While the supporting cast is largely filled with lesser-known faces, he extracts good performances from them even though the secondary characters aren’t written with much depth. Overall, it is a film with good intention, but it is very class appealing. It has little for the masses as its technical jargon will make it difficult for them to understand and enjoy the drama. My view on this movie Highly Recommended to know the shocking story of an ISRO genius.
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