The Vikas engine, which was used to launch India's first PSLV, was created by eminent rocket scientist Nambi Narayanan. He had also produced outstanding work in the field of cryogenics. He received a full scholarship to Princeton and later turned down a fantastic offer from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to work in Thiruvananthapuram for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, directed by R. Madhavan, is a sort of biography on Narayanan that debuted at the Cannes Film Festival's Marche du Film in May and is currently playing in theatres. But sadly, the 157-minute screenplay is entirely unnecessary. The first part of the film, which is scripted by Madhavan (who portrays Nambi Narayanan), feels like a physics lesson since there are so many obscure and tedious scientific terms used. It is scarcely cinematic and incredibly verbose.
In one scene, Narayanan and his men race over a sizable snowy stretch in what was then the Soviet Union, while the second half progresses like an espionage thriller.