R Madhavan says James Bond is a ‘bachcha’ compared to Nambi Narayanan: ‘He is the father of 007’

Madhavan said, “When I met Nambi Narayanan, I was intrigued by the fact that he was only talking about the case, about how he was wronged, about how they would almost kill him in jail, torture him and beat him…” Madhavan said that he told him that the controversy is in the past now, but Narayanan told him to Google his name and see what comes up. And sure enough, most news stories about him are pertaining to his arrest.

Madhavan continued, “For his whole family to be thought of as a ‘spy case family’, it’s not right, and I understood the angst that he had. What shocked me more was that he was given the Padma Bhushan, but nobody knows why he got the Padma Bhushan. In fact, he wasn’t talking about it. He had written a book on his life, and he hadn’t mentioned his achievements. But when I came to know what he did; the first Ivy League scientist from India, or the fact that he went to France with 52 scientists, or the fact that he went to Russia whent the USSR was breaking down… This guy is the father of James Bond, James Bond bachcha nikla iske saamne, he was absolutely incredible.”

He was asked if his pursuit of excellence began after he worked with director Rajkumar Hirani on the film 3 Idiots, and he replied in Hindi, “That would be inaccurate, because I was striving for excellence even before I met him, and that is maybe why I was able to work with someone like him.”

Rocketry is scheduled to be released on July 1, and has been shot in three languages — English, Hindi and Tamil. The film also stars Simran, Rajit Kapur, Gulshan Grover, and features Shah Rukh Khan and Suriya in cameos.