Director Matthew Brown has documented the life and work of mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan in The Man Who Knew Infinity. He shares with Shrabasti Mallik that he has left no stone unturned while digging for facts on his life and is glad that the actors fit the roles perfectly
Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar achieved at 32 what most people take a lifetime to accomplish. Then again, no one can match his genius. Born to a poor Brahmin family in Madras in 1887, he went on to become the Indian who amazed scholars across the world with his mathematical theories. What piqued their interest was the fact that Ramanujan was an autodidact — he was self taught and had no formal training or practice in mathematics whatsoever.
like David Attenborough showed the world the life and struggles of Mahatma Gandhi through his movie Gandhi, director Matthew Brown has captured on camera the story of Ramanujan. The movie, titled The Man Who Knew Infinity, is a poignant and moving documentation of how a young boy, driven by his love for mathematics, grows to become one of the greatest mathematicians in the world.
It was some time ago that Brown read a book by Robert Kanigel called The Man Who Knew Infinity. “I found the book incredible, there was so much to the life of this man that many people do not know about. I knew then that I had to make a film based on his life and his amazing work in the field of mathematical research,” said the independent director.
Thus began the arduous task of digging up facts and sifting through loads of research work. The first thing on his agenda was to get in touch with Kanigel, who gladly opened up his research for Brown. “It was an extensive amount of research that he did for his book and it was incredible — the amount of information that he had on Ramanujan’s life. I was also able to read up on a few Indian biographer’s account on Ramanujan,” said the director who also made quite a number of research trips to India and Cambridge to understand the place and the people more closely. “I even came across a few transcripts of Ramanujan’s work during one of my visits to Trinity College,” the director shared.
And that was not all. He sat with mathematicians Ken Ono and Manjul Bhargava for long hours trying to identify himself with the theories and formulas. Needless to say, he has paid a lot of attention to every aspect of the film. Brown might lack the cinematic prowess that Attenborough had but he just might have made up for that with an eye for minute details and emotions.
In a very subtle way, he has depicted the problems that the young Brahmin boy faced during his stay in England. He hailed from a pure vegetarian family and the movie captures very realistically his yearning for food and his longingness for his own culture and home. “Ramanujan made a huge sacrifice in the pursuit of knowledge, that too at a very young age,” said Brown.
Ramanujan’s partnership with British mathematician GH Hardy in Cambridge resulted in the formulation of many theories and formulas. “Hardy was a great mentor and was instrumental in getting Ramanujan to England. They were of very different natures and that brought out the best in each other. They had a strong bond and always found a way to come over their differences and publish many papers together,” the director added.
Indian actor Dev Patel plays young Ramanujan, while Jeremy Irons will be seen stepping into the shoes of GH Hardy in the movie. According to Brown, like Ramanujan and Hardy, Patel and Irons are radically different from each other. “They have never played such intense characters and I am glad that my casting director chose them. They have delivered a fabulous performance,” Brown pointed out.
The Man Who Knew Infinity is opening at the 46th edition of the International Film Festival of India in Goa. And Brown cannot be more proud. Why wouldn’t he beIJ He is bringing back the legacy of Ramanujan back to India.