Not that it’s a film well made enough to allow a discerning audience to recapitulate every scene or sequence correctly, but one line from the Kartik Aaryan starring Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 is just too obvious. The angry thakursaab of an old haveli in a Rajasthani village hollers to a tensed Ruhaan (Aaryan) that if it is proved that he has lied to the family about the death of their daughter Reet (Kiara Advani) then he will decapitate him for the mistake committed. In a script fraught with random mockery of Hindu religious practices and a general depiction of how regressive is the family’s way of life, this aberration seems to stand out even though a jocular ambience is created around the harsh announcement. Why? Because, for any sane mind who is well versed with dharmic traditions, it’s not easy to digest that the film would show beheading someone is something that Sanatan dharma propagates. 

The narrative though downplays the whole inaccuracy and thrusts the lie amidst an audience who probably wouldn’t realise that the director Anees Bazmee and his scriptwriter wife, Fatima, harboured an agenda here. A brutal punishment that Sharia law unleashes is shown to be a generic Hindu norm. Just like how the Aghori tradition is shown as a dark, occult practice in the film through problematic, ill-researched scenes. However, did any film critics discuss these in their reviews? Not that we read any. Because discrediting Hinduism has interestingly been a very Bollywood thing. Even if the faith is wrong depicted, not one voice is raised. So, when Anupamaa Chopra’s team reviewed the severely commercial film, the criticism concentrated on technicalities only. That the narrative botched up the showcase of the Aghori Sanyasi practices and passed crude nonsensical jokes on Hindus were kept aside. 

That makes Chopra’s comments on R Madhavan’s Rocketry: The Nambi Effect seems weird and clearly driven by vicious propaganda to rob the buzz of the film. Wonder why. What could possibly be Chopra’s reason to call the biopic on one of India’s most talented rocket scientists too Hindu-centric! Why do the left liberals have a problem if S Nambi Narayanan is shown to be a practising Hindu doing his puja every morning before going to ISRO, his workplace; for visiting the temple to pray so that his years of efforts to take India’s space science research forward by leaps and bounds bear fruit; for exclaiming Amme Bhagavathi often and most importantly for being a staunch nationalist who always prioritized the successful development and growth of Bharat.

But, going by how the left ecosystem has always hyperventilated and rampantly shadow banned works that have not minced words on politics, history or nationalism, this was an expected reaction. Especially after Chopra and her husband, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who made the acutely distorted Shikara, tried to sabotage Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files, lest it revealed the bold truth about the Kashmiri Pandit genocide and exodus of 1990 perpetrated by radical Islam that was backed by terror outfits operating in Pakistan. While Shikara had monkey balanced the premise by skewing up what had actually happened, Agnihotri’s film became a movement of sorts because it didn’t hide the fact that Congress politicians, bureaucrats and media were also responsible for the diabolical betrayal of the Kashmiri Pandits then.

So as is their character, the left cabal has come down heavily on Madhavan’s directorial debut simply because there are too many skeletons that might tumble out of the closet. And without finding a rational reason to critique the technicalities of the well-made film, they shun it for showing Nambi Sir as a proud Hindu and a staunch Bharatiya. The same ecosystem that swears by freedom of speech and creative choices is yet again exposing their deep hypocrisy as they unnecessarily harp on a brilliant scientist’s religious leanings and not how he was wronged by the then powers-that-be. The people who lauded Shahrukh Khan for establishing that ‘terror has no religion’ through My Name is Khan is getting insecure with Madhavan sporting vibhuti on his forehead and doing Surya Namaskar! Or are they ruffled that the audience just might start asking uncomfortable questions like, “Why wasn’t the death of Vikram Sarabhai and Homi Bhabha probed into?” that will open a can of worms regarding the death and alienation of some of India’s most meritorious space scientists during the rule of the Congress. 

While the movie thrashes out this through a series of well-researched incidents and experiences, it also reminds us of Tapan Sinha’s Ek Doctor ki Maut based on the life of Dr Subhash Mukhopadhyay, who despite being the pioneer in inventing IVF, was treated with abject disdain by the Congress and the CPIM, forcing him to eventually end his life. While the world credits Dr Robert Edwards for the achievement, erudite circles know that Dr Mukhopadhyay was purposely victimized to ‘allow the west to take the credits’. The chronicles of S Nambi Narayanan also reveal a similar conspiracy to keep India grovelling. 

It’s only towards the end of the film that one realizes how important it is for Indians who love their country to know S Nambi Narayanan’s story. The reflection, “What could have been!” looms so large above the consciousness that it is difficult to shake away the feeling of disgust and anger at those who sabotaged his shining career and contribution to his motherland. His fault? Well, the detractors of this nation didn’t need a reason to pin nationalist entities down. Insurmountable greed for the wrong kind of income, slavery towards those who would rather have India grovel before them than rising with its own might and intelligence, a stinging hatred for unapologetic Hindus and outright connivance have always impeded the growth of such stalwarts. While realizing that the Nambi effect could have strengthened India’s position in the field of space sciences, you cannot shy away from the fact that the backstabbers were far too many who snuck away easily. The scene where news arrives of his vindication is beautifully done. The questions asked by the scientist towards the end and the points raised about ‘I was exonerated, but we all need to figure out who was behind the conspiracy!” are way too pertinent. Fun thing is, we all know now. Some say it out loudly, some are still pussy footing because their ideologies are shaped by political and firangi hyenas.   

To do her job well, Chopra could have concentrated on how Madhavan is in top form because he believes in the cause his directorial debut is directed at. Shahrukh Khan’s casting was clever while the tone and tenor of the biopic is crisp and restrained. Humiliation, psychological assault, insults and so much more the brilliant man faced just because he loved his country and wanted it to speed ahead. The least Indians can do is not forget his sacrifices and never forgive the perpetrators who did this to a patriot of Bharat. Actually, still doing.