The rise and fall of Rocketry

What makes a biopic swim through the echo chambers and reach the hearts of the viewers is its unshakeable commitment to the person – or the event – it tries to reproduce. Biopics deviate from facts usually in order to heighten the tension between its protagonists and antagonists. And some filmmakers even beat around the bush before getting to the crux of the matter, as it gives them the much-needed leeway to develop their characters. Since movies also have a time limit, all the setbacks and successes are shrunk and packed together. However, the triumphs often outmaneuver the trials and tribulations.

In the recently released biopic,  Rocketry: The Nambi Effect , Nambi Narayanan (Madhavan) receives a phone call, when he’s in France, in which he’s requested to send his colleague, Unni (Sam Mohan), back home so that the latter can grieve his son’s death. But Narayanan tells the caller that the work Unni is doing is really important to the nation at the moment and it’d be highly impossible for his team to let him go at such a crucial juncture. It is, of course, a decision that Narayanan takes without considering what the father of the child might have done had he been given a chance to choose his own path. Would he have, perhaps, wished to be with his family? Or would he have continued to perform his duties with tears running down his face instead? I’m not sure.

Nevertheless, when Unni finally comes to know about the grave fate that has befallen his son, he curses Narayanan and faints from the sheer exhaustion of having faced the truth. Some years down the line, when the cops arrest Narayanan and beat him black and blue for a crime he didn’t commit, Unni comes to his rescue. Unni declares that his former friend may be many things, but not a traitor. Aren’t these two scenes more than enough to establish Narayanan’s love for the nation?

Nambi, the scientist upon whom the movie is based, even makes a cameo appearance in the climactic conversation with Suriya (in the Tamil version) where he expresses his displeasure regarding the ill-treatment he was subjected to. Scientists and artists should be given all the resources to fulfill their dreams in their respective countries. How else can a country prosper technologically and culturally?

Rocketry doesn’t focus on the arrest and humiliation meted out to Narayanan alone. It actually dedicates more screen time to his wisecracks and his ability to get his hands on the equipment that he wants. Biopics are made, in a way, to inspire us – to make us reach for the stars and to add to the point that nothing can stop us from achieving our goals if we have the right kind of people by our side. Well, there are also films that are being made with the sole intention of rewriting history. It’d be great if the viewers take an interest in the ideals that are espoused by the makers before getting excited about the content.

Mallesham (2019), the Telugu biopic that looks into the invention of the Asu Machine, takes a similar route where the eponymous hero (played by Priyadarshi) relentlessly tweaks the machine until he gets it going. It’s not as easy as it looks because he’s forced to give it up and put his mind to better use every now and then. He’s even ridiculed by his fellow villagers when the machine doesn’t work exactly the way he imagines. But, with the support provided by his wife, he finally does it and shows his detractors that determination and hard work never fail to bear fruits.

Unlike the National Award winning Telugu drama Mahanati (2018), a biopic on the life and times of Savitri, Mallesham went under the radar. Probably due to the relatively unknown cast and crew, it didn’t receive the amount of attention it deserved. But it’ll definitely find a place in Indian cinema as a well-rounded biopic someday.

Bollywood, which is currently churning out biopics at the rate of making rotis, will soon run out of inspiring figures to make movies about. We’ll also get tired of all the people we’re supposed to revere and turn to comfort comedies and whodunits. Maybe they’ll soothe the nerves that have been fighting the pandemic. But good films will always be welcomed with open arms. There’s no doubt about it. And apart from the dialogues that seem to be on the nose, Rocketry, which marks the directorial debut of Madhavan, is likeable.

Rocketry doesn’t throw much light on the loopholes plaguing the departments that are set up to bring us justice, or the plights of thinkers who have to endure hardship. But it’ll help us to take notice of a scientist who’s spent his life looking up – at the world beyond the grass.

Karthik Keramalu is a writer. His works have been published in The Bombay Review, The Quint, Deccan Herald and Film Companion, among others. 

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