'Rocket Boys 2': 5 movies inspired by real-life scientists
The sequel to the hit-cult series Rocket Boys is finally coming on March 16. Jim Sarbh and Ishwak Singh will portray renowned scientists Vikram Sarabhai and Homi Bhabha in the second chapter, which will highlight India's glorious journey toward becoming a nuclear power. Here is a list of movies based on real-life scientists to hold you over until the premiere of Rocket Boys 2.
'Rocketry: The Nambi Effect' (2022)
Featuring the brightest talent R Madhavan, the film Rocketry: The Nambi Effect is based on the life of Nambi Narayanan, a former scientist and aerospace engineer at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The film chronicles the intriguing incidents from the life of Narayanan, including the false espionage charges that he faced in 1994, which eventually led to his arrest and imprisonment.
'Mission Mangal' (2019)
With an ensemble cast led by Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Tapsee Pannu, and Sonakshi Sinha among others, the film Mission Mangal was based on the remarkable story of Mangalyaan, India's first Mars Orbiter Mission, launched in November 2013. More specifically, the film followed the lives of scientists at ISRO and how they overcame several challenges to successfully launch India's first interplanetary expedition.
'Radioactive' (2019)
Typically, scientists are portrayed as stick figures rather than complex, all-too-human people, and that is also true of Marie Curie, the pioneer of radioactivity research and the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. The film directed by Marjane Satrapi beautifully showcased Madame Curie's (played by Rosamund Pike) brilliance but also depicted her courage as a female scientist struggling in a male-dominated scientific community.
'The Hidden Figures' (2016)
With its catchy title, the movie was based on the lives of three African-American scientists—Katherine G Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson—who played a vital role in NASA's early space expeditions in the 1960s. Based on the non-fiction book by Margot Lee Shatterly by the same name, the film showcased, in incredible detail, how three women scripted history in a racially segregated, male-dominated society.
'The Theory of Everything' (2014)
Widely considered to be one of the greatest scientists of this time, Stephen Hawking was a theoretical physicist and cosmologist and the film The Theory of Everything was based on his life story. From his days at Cambridge to his marriage to Jane Hawking, the story chronicled how one of the greatest minds of all time became a scientist despite battling motor neuron disease.
