Hyderabad: Actor R. Madhavan is all set for his directorial debut with ‘Rocketry: The Nambi Effect’ and he is currently drawing a lot of flak for saying that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) used the Hindu calendar to successfully launch a rocket to Mars for the Mangalyaan mission.
During a promotional event for his upcoming film, Madhavan made the comment in Tamil which was translated by musician T M Krishna.
Madhavan said, “Indian rockets did not have 3 engines (solid, liquid, and cryogenic) which help western rockets propel themselves into the Martian orbit. Since India lacked, they used the information in the ‘Panchangam’ (Hindu Calendar).”
“The ‘Panchangam’ has the celestial map with all information on various planets, the gravitational pull of planets, the deflection of Sun’s flares, etc. Everything was calculated perfectly thousands of years ago and hence the launch was calculated using this information in the calendar,” he further added, “The rocket was launched and it went around the earth, moon, and Jupiter’s moon and ricochet into Mars’ orbit.”
T M Krishna took to Twitter to share Madhavan’s translated comment and captioned it, “Disappointed that @isro has not published this vital information on their website. Time to also consider a Mars Panchangam!”
Netizens react
Within no time, the comment has gone viral with netizens trolling Madhavan for his comment. One user said, “Such a disappointment to see the man, who was once a poster boy of Tamil romantic movies turn into a WhatsApp uncle.”
While another user said, “The Mangalyan mission was an achievement by ISRO and not a comedy done.”
Madhavan’s reaction to trolling
Today, Madhavan reacted to the trolling and took to Twitter to apologize for his ignorance. He tweeted, “I deserve this for calling the Almanac the “Panchang” in tamil. Very ignorant of me. Though this cannot take away for the fact that what was achieved with just 2 engines by us in the Mars Mission. A record by itself. @NambiNOfficial, Vikas engine is a rockstar.”
A biographical drama based on the life of Nambi Narayanan, a former scientist and aerospace engineer of the Indian Space Research Organisation, ‘Rocketry: The Nambi Effect’ is slated to hit the theatres on July 1. Along with Madhavan, the film will also star Surya, Shah Rukh Khan, Simran, and Karina Matas Piper.
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