THE NAMBI EFFECT tells a shocking story of an ISRO genius and is embellished with an award-winning performance by R Madhavan.

Rocketry – The Nambi Effect Review {3.0/5} & Review Rating

ROCKETRY: THE NAMBI EFFECT is the story of an incredible scientist. In the late 60s, Nambi Narayanan (R Madhavan) is a genius who works for 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). The professor has not been accepting students but makes an exception for Nambi due to persuasion, sharp mind and also because Nambi offers to take care of the house and Professor’s ailing wife (Branka Petric). 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. All is going well for Nambi but on November 30, 1994, everything changes. Nambi gets arrested on espionage charges and for leaking vital secrets to Pakistan. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

R Madhavan’s story (additional story by Anjali Nair, Ananth Narayan Mahadevan and Sreedevi Krishnan) is quite promising and makes for a great film. R Madhavan’s screenplay (additional screenplay by Sukhmani Sadhana and Anjali Nair) is fine. 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. R Madhavan’s dialogues (additional dialogues by Rahul Pandey) are simple, yet sharp. In the first half, however, a lot of technical jargon is used and it could have been avoided.

R Madhavan’s direction is fair. This is his debut directorial 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. R Madhavan takes up key episodes from his life and executes them in an entertaining manner. 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. On the flipside, at 157 minutes, the film is too lengthy. 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. Lastly, the excitement is limited and hence, its box office prospects seem bleak.

ROCKETRY: THE NAMBI EFFECT starts with a long shot that will leave the audience impressed. At the beginning itself, Nambi is shown getting humiliated and arrested. 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.

Rocketry | Hindi Trailer 2 | R. Madhavan | Simran Bagga

R Madhavan is in terrific form as an actor. He has put his heart and soul into this performance and his look is also spot on. It’s astonishing to see that his look as the older Nambi is ditto like the one that the real Nambi Narayan has. ROCKETRY: THE NAMBI EFFECT is surely one of his most accomplished performances. Simran (Nambi’s wife Meena) gets limited scope in the first half but is memorable in the second half. Sam Mohan (Unni) has an important part and is too good. Kartik Kumar (CBI officer P M Nair) leaves a huge mark in the small role. Rajit Kapur is lovely. Vincent Riotta is decent while Branka Petric is sure to leave viewers smiling. Anurita Jha (Mariam Rasheeda), Dinesh Prabhakar (Inspector L D Gopal), Amaan (APJ Abdul Kalam), Rajeev Ravindranathan (Nambi’s colleague Param), Bhawsheel Sahani Singh (Nambi’s colleague Sartaj), Vladimir Vuckovic (Yuri), Rick Zingale (Professor Chokmark), Deepak Kriplani (Satish Dhawan), Ron Donachie (Cleaver Hughes, Rolls Royce CEO) and Sriram Parthasarathy (Barry Amaldev) also do well. Lastly, Shah Rukh Khan is excellent in a special appearance. His presence elevates the film.

Music is poor. ‘Sri Venkatesa Suprabhatam’ is well woven into the film. ‘Behne Do’ and ‘Aasmaan’ fail to leave a mark. Sam C S’s background music (additional music by Divakar Subramaniam) is exhilarating and enhances impact in several scenes.

Sirsha Ray’s cinematography is appropriate. Ranjit & Prerna’s production design is detailed. Niharika Khan and Gautami Hazra’s costumes are realistic and in sync with the period setup. Vikram Gaikwad, Farah Tarapore and Rohan Jagtap’s make-up and hair design are praiseworthy, especially in the case of R Madhavan. Action is realistic. Golden Square Media Works Pvt Ltd, Hive FX Studioz and RedChillies.VFX’s VFX is rich. Bijith Bala’s editing should have been sharper.

On the whole, ROCKETRY: THE NAMBI EFFECT tells a shocking story of an ISRO genius and is embellished with an award-winning performance by R Madhavan. At the box office, it will have to depend on a positive word of mouth from its target audience.