Not many of us know that the month of April was been declared as the Mathematics Awareness month. This was the reason that mathophobic and mathophiles in UK and USA were delighted to watch the newly released biopic on Indian math genius Srinivasa Ramanujan. As Mathew Brown’s biopic ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity’ hit the theatres, the audience could not help but marvel at the brilliance of the man who never really had a proper schooling and yet made extraordinary contributions in mathematical analysis. What’s appealing about the movie is that it has deftly captured Ramanujan’s gifted intuitive abilities instead of stressing on the reasons.
‘The Man Who Knew Infinity’ was the opening movie at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), in Goa last year and the lead star Dev Patel, a British actor with Indian roots had declared that ‘he dreaded Maths’. The movie is rumoured to be releasing on April 26 in India, on the death anniversary of the genius.
Reasons why Indians should watch the movie:
Dev Patel's indelible impact: This is undoubtedly the most crucial role for Patel, after Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, which made him a star. Patel’s simplicity and vulnerability plays a vital role in expressing the South Indian mathematician’s nobility and genuineness. Though a lanky Patel’s physic is not similar to the short and stout mathematician, but, the actors wins it with his measured expressions and well-rehearsed mannerism.
Who was Ramanujan?: Besides ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity’, another biopic titled Ramanujan directed by Tamil filmmaker Ghana Rajasekaran was made in 2014, but Indians still have limited knowledge about Ramanujan. The self-taught mathematician, who had a simplistic approach and a distinct passion, hailed from a poor Indian family. He worked as a bookkeeper in Madras and his brain supposedly worked as an abacus. Hugely ignored his own country, Ramanujan’s talent was recognized by professors at Trinity College, Cambridge, who invited him to the UK. Plagued with several health problems, Ramanujan died at the young age of 32.
Based on a book by Robert Kanigel: The book 'The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan' published in 1991, which gives a detailed account of his poverty-stricken life in Madras, his humble upbringing, and his mathematical achievements. The bigger emphasis of the book is on his collaboration with English mathematician G H Hardy.
Exploring Ramanujan’s intuitive intellect: The movie narrates the relationship between English mathematicians and Ramanujan, who never had answers to explain of his inbuilt, instinctive mathematical brain. The unexplainable intuition of Ramanujan, which he connects with spiritualism and God, elevates the drama.
Slumdog Mathematician: Since the movie opens up in 1914 and explores Ramanujan’s journey- who wore slippers and struggled to adjust in the western milieu. The movie does not refrain from talking about the racism that Ramanujan faced in those days; though the mathematician himself did not leave behind any personal reminiscences of his experiences.
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