Rocketry: The Nambi Effect (2022) Synopsis

During the present time in a televised interview with actor Shah Rukh Khan (Hindi)/Suriya (Tamil), Nambi walks through the events leading to his rise as an eminent engineer to alleged espionage charges, and physical and mental cruelty against him.Nambi starts with his experiences at the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station, where he saves A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, one of his team members from a major injury during an experiment. In 1969, he is accepted into Princeton University in the US.Nambi successfully completes his MSE program in chemical rocket propulsion under professor Luigi Crocco who recommends him for the NASA fellowship. However, after a brief stint at NASA with Barry Amaldev, he is offered a generous paycheck and other allowances. He rejects it and returns to India so that he may make use of his talents at ISRO. Subsequently, he also manages to get 400 million pounds of equipment from Scotland for free. However, after the suspicious death of Vikram Sarabhai, he did not have adequate support from ISRO or funds from the Indian government to continue his research.At this point, Nambi strikes a deal with the French who need skilled scientists to help them build their own liquid fuel engine. He then moves to France with his colleagues, hoping to learn from France's advanced technology so that they may recreate it back in India. Unbeknownst to the French, Nambi and his 52 colleagues have learnt French before their journey but pretend to not understand them. After being kept out of their major discussions, Nambi's team tries to find a way to gain access to these meetings and test data. It is then that they discover that the French engine is faulty. Nambi uses this opportunity to gain access to the required data in exchange for fixing the engine. The team then returns to India and start working on building their own engine on liquid fuels. However, due to a lack of resources, it takes 8 more years to complete. They test the engine at the same testing facility in France - it goes above the 135-pressure mark and goes all the way to 180. Successful in his plans, Nambi returns to India after naming the engine VIKAS after Vikram Sarabhai, his mentor.Nambi's focus is now on cryogenic engines which he believes will make India competent to participate in the world satellite market. Knowing ISRO's limitations in terms of time and resources, Nambi decides to purchase these engines from some other country. He strikes a deal with Russia (then USSR) after informing them that he knows about their cryogenic missiles, told to him by his Russian friend in Princeton. He requests 4 of them to be imported to India. After the Russians agree, the Americans find out about this deal and try their best to break it. While USSR is on the brink of collapse, Nambi and his colleagues manage to expedite the transfer process and sneak out a couple of engines from under the Americans' noses with the help of the Russians.Back in India, Nambi is arrested out of the blue while news of his treason spreads like wildfire. He is taken to a guest house in Trivandrum where he is beaten and tortured in an attempt to make him confess to his alleged crimes. He also recognizes that the officials are trying to make him repeat their sentences and that there is a recording device in the room to capture it. However, Nambi holds his ground and denies all charges. It was alleged that Nambi met Mariam, a Maldivian woman, in a hotel in Chennai and after being caught in her trap, he was forced to sell India's rocketry secrets to Pakistan. After being hospitalized due to his injuries, Nambi is met by CBI official P. M. Nair, who thoroughly investigates the matter. Nair brings Mariam and her friend, along with a few others into the room. Mariam and her friend reveal that the Kerala police officer in charge of the investigation, Gopal, tortured and threatened them and made them falsely incriminate Nambi, whom they have never met before. They also apologize to Nambi for ruining his reputation and causing pain to him and his family. Nair also figures out that all the accused in this case were members of ISRO's cryogenic wing, and concludes that it was a huge ploy by some powerful parties to hinder India's progress in the cryogenic sector.Months later, Nambi receives bail and returns to his house to find his family members traumatized by the way they were treated by others. Nambi's wife Meena is in need of psychiatric help and the rest of his family are still shunned by society. Hence, Nambi decides that he has to clear his name so that his family may lead normal lives in the future. Years later, Nambi is proven innocent by the Supreme Court and returns to ISRO, helping his colleagues with the Mangalyaan mission. Nambi is later awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contributions to Indian Space Research.After hearing his story, Shah Rukh Khan (Hindi)/Suriya (Tamil) feels so bad for Nambi, that he apologizes to Nambi on the behalf of the whole nation, as the interview ends. The real Nambi is shown receiving the Padma Bhushan award from the president, Ram Nath Kovind.

During the present time in a televised interview with actor Shah Rukh Khan (Hindi)/Suriya (Tamil), Nambi walks through the events leading to his rise as an eminent engineer to alleged espionage charges, and physical and mental cruelty against him.Nambi starts with his experiences at the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station, where he saves A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, one of his team members from a major injury during an experiment. In 1969, he is accepted into Princeton University in the US.Nambi successfully completes his MSE program in chemical rocket propulsion under professor Luigi Crocco who recommends him for the NASA fellowship. However, after a brief stint at NASA with Barry Amaldev, he is offered a generous paycheck and other allowances. He rejects it and returns to India so that he may make use of his talents at ISRO. Subsequently, he also manages to get 400 million pounds of equipment from Scotland for free. However, after the suspicious death of Vikram Sarabhai, he did not have adequate support from ISRO or funds from the Indian government to continue his research.At this point, Nambi strikes a deal with the French who need skilled scientists to help them build their own liquid fuel engine. He then moves to France with his colleagues, hoping to learn from France's advanced technology so that they may recreate it back in India. Unbeknownst to the French, Nambi and his 52 colleagues have learnt French before their journey but pretend to not understand them. After being kept out of their major discussions, Nambi's team tries to find a way to gain access to these meetings and test data. It is then that they discover that the French engine is faulty. Nambi uses this opportunity to gain access to the required data in exchange for fixing the engine. The team then returns to India and start working on building their own engine on liquid fuels. However, due to a lack of resources, it takes 8 more years to complete. They test the engine at the same testing facility in France - it goes above the 135-pressure mark and goes all the way to 180. Successful in his plans, Nambi returns to India after naming the engine VIKAS after Vikram Sarabhai, his mentor.Nambi's focus is now on cryogenic engines which he believes will make India competent to participate in the world satellite market. Knowing ISRO's limitations in terms of time and resources, Nambi decides to purchase these engines from some other country. He strikes a deal with Russia (then USSR) after informing them that he knows about their cryogenic missiles, told to him by his Russian friend in Princeton. He requests 4 of them to be imported to India. After the Russians agree, the Americans find out about this deal and try their best to break it. While USSR is on the brink of collapse, Nambi and his colleagues manage to expedite the transfer process and sneak out a couple of engines from under the Americans' noses with the help of the Russians.Back in India, Nambi is arrested out of the blue while news of his treason spreads like wildfire. He is taken to a guest house in Trivandrum where he is beaten and tortured in an attempt to make him confess to his alleged crimes. He also recognizes that the officials are trying to make him repeat their sentences and that there is a recording device in the room to capture it. However, Nambi holds his ground and denies all charges. It was alleged that Nambi met Mariam, a Maldivian woman, in a hotel in Chennai and after being caught in her trap, he was forced to sell India's rocketry secrets to Pakistan. After being hospitalized due to his injuries, Nambi is met by CBI official P. M. Nair, who thoroughly investigates the matter. Nair brings Mariam and her friend, along with a few others into the room. Mariam and her friend reveal that the Kerala police officer in charge of the investigation, Gopal, tortured and threatened them and made them falsely incriminate Nambi, whom they have never met before. They also apologize to Nambi for ruining his reputation and causing pain to him and his family. Nair also figures out that all the accused in this case were members of ISRO's cryogenic wing, and concludes that it was a huge ploy by some powerful parties to hinder India's progress in the cryogenic sector.Months later, Nambi receives bail and returns to his house to find his family members traumatized by the way they were treated by others. Nambi's wife Meena is in need of psychiatric help and the rest of his family are still shunned by society. Hence, Nambi decides that he has to clear his name so that his family may lead normal lives in the future. Years later, Nambi is proven innocent by the Supreme Court and returns to ISRO, helping his colleagues with the Mangalyaan mission. Nambi is later awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contributions to Indian Space Research.After hearing his story, Shah Rukh Khan (Hindi)/Suriya (Tamil) feels so bad for Nambi, that he apologizes to Nambi on the behalf of the whole nation, as the interview ends. The real Nambi is shown receiving the Padma Bhushan award from the president, Ram Nath Kovind.

Published Time: 2022-07-29 19:51:11