R. Madhavan’s directorial debut Rocketry: The Nambi Effect has been named as the Best Feature Film at the 69th National Film Awards. There were 280 films across 28 languages in the competition and the event was held by the jury at the National Media Centre in Delhi.
Released in 2022, Rocketry: The Nambi Effect is a biographical drama and stars R Madhavan in the lead role. Commenting on winning one of the most prestigious awards, R Madhavan told financialexpress.com’s Eshita Bhargava, “Receiving the National Award for Best Feature Film is a testament to the power of storytelling and the importance of bringing lesser-known but impactful stories to the forefront.”
He added, “I am thankful to the audience for embracing Rocketry’ and Nambi Sir’s journey with such enthusiasm.”
The film is based on the life of Nambi Narayanan, played by Madhavan, a scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), who was accused in the ISRO espionage case and later exonerated. The story revolves around Narayanan’s time as a graduate student at Princeton University, before exploring his work as a scientist and the false espionage charges placed upon him.
Bollywood actresses Alia Bhatt and Kriti Sanon shared the Best Actress award for their performances in Gangubai Kathiawadi and Mimi respectively while Allu Arjun got the award for Best Actor for Pushpa: The Rise.
Actor Pankaj Tripathi won the Best Supporting Actor for Mimi and Pallavi Joshi won the Best Supporting Actress for The Kashmir Files. Jr NTR and Ram Charan’s RRR won the Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.