THE MAN WHO KNEW
Part 2 of “The Best Class Assignment”, movie day! Once we knew that the movie we were going to watch was The Man Who Knew Infinity, I quickly searched up some information on this movie. I thought it was going to be some Interstellar/Inception kind of movie but nope. Maths. Mathematics isn’t really my cup of ‘teh tarik’, but thank God it was in the form of a movie and not a lecture (anything but a maths lecture). At first I thought it was going to be one of those movies where I would fall asleep to but fortunately, my money was well spent. This biography of Srinivasa Ramanujan, was an inspiring one which kept me hooked on to throughout.
Act 1, the setup. The movie begin by introducing its main character as well as the sub characters. It portrayed the life of Ramanujan going through trials and tribulations. Janaki, his wife was also introduced at the early stage of the movie. I feel that the movie should have gone way back into his life when he was a child show his history and background that he had to face before landing a job as a clerk at an accounting firm in Madras. Apparently Ramanujan was one of the few survivors who recovered from smallpox and he had 3 other younger siblings who died at infancy. This should have been portrayed into the movie which would have made it more interesting. That would have gave us an idea of what his life would have been and may even create a deeper connection between the character and audience. To complete act 1, Ramanujan has been given an issue which he must accomplish. He is invited to Cambridge University and must decide whether he would go get his formula’s and theories publish or stay back to take care of his family. Eventually, he chooses to sacrifice spending his time with his mother and wife to accomplish his dreams of getting his new theorems published.
Act 2, the development. The story unfolds as Ramanujan packs his bags to head to Cambridge University where he will meet Professor G.H. Hardy. As tears rolled down his mother’s cheek, he gave his blessings and was off. The adventure has begun for this young man who has travelled across the sea (which he is not supposed to). Ramanujan left Madras by boat on the 17th of March 1914 and arrived there one month later. The next 5 years he spent at London where a bitter sweet moment. Ramanujan encountered many hardships while trying to get his works published. He faced tons of rejections throughout his time there. As it was in the World War 1 era, racism was very much everywhere. The British looked down on Indians and were very stereotypical minded that all Indians were uneducated. Being a person that came from Madras made things even worst. But as they say, a diamond doesn't start out polished and shining, but with enough pressure and time, it will become spectacular. He is that diamond.
Eventually act 3 came to play when Ramanujan’s work and tireless efforts were finally accepted and published as a paper in the Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society. On 6 December 1917, he was elected to the London Mathematical Society and in 1918 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. At the age of 31 Ramanujan was one of the youngest Fellows in the history of the Royal Society. Throughout his stay at London, Ramanujan contracted tuberculosis which became severe. He returned to Madras in 1919 and lived for a year before his death. He died at the age of 32. Somehow the ending brought tears to my eyes. It made me realise that life can be so fragile. We can’t wait for things to happen but rather work hard for it and strive for the best as we never know when we will return to God.
To sum things up, this movie was an inspiring one which I had not expected. The strength and spirit to achieve his goals has encouraged me to do something about my life now. Though life can be unfair at times, it is truly up to us on how we turn a problem into a challenge and that is what keeps me going. The Man Who Knew Infinity may be a simple biography drama movie, but it certainly is inspirational.