Unsung heroes make for great cinema. And Madhavan knows that a little too well.A few years ago, he came up with Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, which told the story of one such hero — Nambi Narayanan, former scientist and aerospace engineer at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). In fact, circumstances forced the actor to turn filmmaker to ensure that his passion projectmade it to the big screen.His latest obsession is another such unsung hero: inventor and industrial pioneer, GD Naidu.“I love watching and hearing about the extraordinary achievements of ordinary men,” the 56-year-old actor says, as he looks out of his room in a luxury hotel in Chennai, with a bird’s eye view of bustling city roads below.
Madhavan’s upcoming film is ‘G.D.N’, a biopic on inventor GD Naidu
| Photo Credit:
Thamodharan B
Forgotten geniusMaddy – as he is called, by both friends and fans – is fascinated by the life and times of Gopalsamy Doraisamy Naidu. “There are great achievers in every field, but the people I find most fascinating are the ones who do what they do without any expectation of recognition during their lifetime. Nambi Narayan did that. GD Naidu was also one such extraordinary individual.”Directed by Krishnakumar Ramkumar and produced by Varghese Moolan Pictures, G.D.N – set to release on August 7 – will unveil the genius of GD Naidu, widely regarded as the ‘Edison of India’. In fact, upon his passing in 1974, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister CN Annadurai remarked, “Our society did not make use of GD Naidu’s intellect. His inventions are a very valuable resource to society.”Annadurai must have been referring to his inventions such as the vote recording machine, radio clock and the electric razor, among others, but all these will only form a part of Madhavan’s current biopic on the man. “All that has been written and known about him was a fraction of what he was. What he has done for Coimbatore, India and society is unsung, all hidden behind the fact that the media and the British portrayed him in a certain manner and therefore relegated him to a corner of the history book. In fact, the fight in this film is to make his story a part of the syllabus, at least in Tamil Nadu,” he states, adding, “What Uber or Bill Gates has done today is what GD Naidu thought of many decades ago.”
