Madhavan made the comments while promoting his film 'Rocketry: The Nambi Effect'. (File)
Actor R Madhavan who made his directorial debut with the film 'Rocketry: The Nambi Effect' is being criticised for saying that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) used the Hindu calendar to successfully launch the PSLV C-25 rocket to Mars for India's Mars mission.
The actor made the comments while promoting his directorial debut which was recently screened at the 75th Cannes Films Festival in May. Mr Madhavan made the comments in Tamil which was translated by musician T M Krishna. The actor 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).
According to the user who translated Madhavan's words, "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."
The '3 Idiots' actor 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 shared a link to ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission and said "It's time to also consider the Mars Panchangam!"
Many Twitter users reacted to his comments and 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."
Mr Madhavan's film 'Rocketry: The Nambi Effect' is a biographical drama based on the life of former ISRO scientist and aerospace engineer Nambi Narayanan, who was falsely accused of espionage.
The film's trailer was recently showcased at Expo 2022 Dubai where it received a positive response from the audience. Commenting on collaborating with Mr. Madhavan, Nambi Narayanan said, "I wanted someone who understood what it means to be an engineer. Since Madhavan is an engineer himself, it made telling him my story that much easier."
The ISRO's Mangalyan mission was India's first interplanetary mission. ISRO's K Sivan said the Mangalyan mission was initially meant for only 6 months. India became the first country to reach the Martian orbit in the first attempt in 2014.