The film Rocketry: The Nambi Effect starring R Madhavan, premiered at the 75th Cannes Film Festival on May 19. In the Hindi version of the film, Shah Rukh Khan portrays a chat show host who interviews Madhavan’s character. Suriya, on the other hand, plays the same character in the Telugu remake. R Madhavan recently revealed during a film marketing event that neither Shah Rukh nor Suriya were paid for their roles in the film.
As quoted by news agency ANI, R Madhavan said, “I mentioned about Rocketry to Shah Rukh Khan sahab (sir) when I worked with him in Zero …he vividly remembered it that during one of his birthday parties he asked me about the film’s status and expressed his desire to be a part of the film. ‘Mujhe background mein koi bhi role chalega main is film ka hissa hona chahta hu (I’m ready to play any role in the background I want to be a part of this film), Khan sahab told me. I thought he was joking. Two days later my wife Sarita asked me to thank Khan sahab for his kind words. I dropped a message to Khan sahab’s manager asking her to convey my gratitude to him and I instantly got a text from the manager saying, ‘Khan sahab dates puch rahe hai shoot ki (Khan sir is asking about the dates of the shoot)’.. and that’s how he became a part of our film.”
He also added, “The two (Shah Rukh and Suriya) did not charge a single penny for their work in the film. They did not charge anything for caravans, costumes, and assistants. In fact, Suriya flew out to shoot in Mumbai with his crew on his own money. He did not charge for the flights or for the dialogue writer who translated his lines in Tamil.”
The Nambi Effect is based on the life of Nambi Narayanan, a former scientist and aeronautical engineer of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) (Indian Space Research Organisation). He had been charged with espionage. R Madhavan, who also plays the title lead role, wrote, produced, and directed the film. Narayanan’s days as a doctoral student at Princeton University are covered in the story, before moving on to his job as a scientist and the false espionage charges levelled against him. Rocketry will be released in the following languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and English. It was shot in India, France, Canada, Georgia, and Serbia in Tamil, Hindi, and English at the same time in various locales. On July 1, 2022, the film will be released.
