Today after a very long time, I feel mortified to be part of a nation that did what it did to a man like Nambi Narayanan. For those of you who don’t know who he is like I didn’t know who he was till I saw Madhavan’s Rocketry, he is one of those pillars of ISRO who made it possible for India to get to what it has achieved in the field of Space and Research.

We don’t get to enjoy good movies often, but when we do, we get ones like Rocketry. To begin with, may I dare to say, we don’t deserve men like Nambi Narayanan in our country. To a man who has gone beyond measures to financially, physically, and technologically aids the nation to do better and achieve a position in the global run for successful space missions, it is simply unacceptable what has happened to him and his family.

I would like to take time and appreciate and admire the impeccable job R. Madhavan has done. He brought to light something so serious and significant. Not all filmmakers are interested in delivering good-quality movies to the audience. There’s always a preconceived notion that the public only likes ‘masala’ and commercial movies – well, I do not agree.

Some movies make us laugh, some make us emotional, some make us ponder and some inspire us. Very few movies virtually slap their audience – Rocketry was that slap on our face for not knowing the facts, not being aware of what was happening to a person of substance like him, and for being part of a society that jumps to conclusions and rioting against one another for merely NO gain whatsoever!

I want to request each one of you to stand up as an individual and rise against constitutional and bureaucratic entanglements that destroy the meaning of secularism and democracy. Honestly, we as citizens of this country should not be allowing such things to happen. We should use our common sense a little more, research what we hear and see, and then choose to believe or disbelieve the obvious. It’s high time we do something about being gullible and taken for granted.

It’s been happening for years and it will continue to happen if we continue to live like the three wise monkeys – the only difference is that those monkeys taught us to see, hear and speak no evil – today we see, hear and speak nothing, as if we don’t care what’s happening with/to us as a country. Ignorance is not bliss.

It’s time to take in the essence of what’s being said. Movies if viewed in the right spirit are not simply works of art, but also powerful social messages that force us to open our eyes and see reality.

Rocketry was a reality check. Thank you, Madhavan for making this film. It was worth every goosebump, every tear shed, every emotion felt. Kudos to good movies.

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