R Madhavan Meets Astronaut Sunita Williams During 'Rocketry' Promotion Tour In The USA

Actor R Madhavan recently met Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams in the United States while promoting his directorial debut, 'Rocketry: The Nambi Effect.' Following his appearance at Cannes 2022, the actor is on a 12-day promotional tour in the United States. He met Williams during a recent visit to Stafford, Texas, and was joined by ISRO engineer Nambi Narayananan, whose life was the subject of the film. June 3 was also announced as ' Nambi Narayanan Day' by the city's Mayor Cecil Willis.

News agency ANI released a photo from their meeting with Williams.

According to ANI, Madhavan and Narayanan are on a 12-day tour of the United States, visiting cities such as New York, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Arizona, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle.

Madhavan essays the life of Narayanan, a former rocket scientist of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). In 1994, Narayanan, the head of ISRO's cryogenics branch, was unjustly accused of espionage and jailed. In 1998, the Supreme Court dismissed all charges against him.

The film, which also stars Phyllis Logan, Vincent Riotta, and Ron Donachie, will be released internationally on July 1. Actors Shah Rukh Khan and Suriya are said to make cameo roles in the film.

Madhavan, who also directed the film, previously stated that he chose to direct it since no one else was familiar with the scientific facts that were required for it. “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,” adding that the choices were ‘to dump the film or take the plunge as a director,” he said. 

'Rocketry: The Nambi Effect' will be released in six languages: Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada. It was shot in India, France, Canada, Georgia, and Serbia.