The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015)

The story of the life and academic career of the pioneer Indian mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan, and his friendship with his mentor, Professor G.H. Hardy.

Director:

Matt Brown (as Matthew Brown)

Writers:

Matt Brown (screenplay), Matt Brown

Stars:

Dev Patel, Jeremy Irons, Malcolm Sinclair

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeremy Irons	...	G.H. Hardy
Dev Patel	...	S. Ramanujan
Malcolm Sinclair	...	Professor Cartwright
Raghuvir Joshi	...	Narasimha
Dhritiman Chatterjee	...	Narayana Iyer (as Dhritiman Chaterji)
Stephen Fry	...	Sir Francis Spring
Arundathi Nag	...	Komalatammal
Devika Bhise	...	Janaki
Pádraic Delaney	...	Beglan
Toby Jones	...	John Edensor Littlewood
Jeremy Northam	...	Bertrand Russell
San Shella	...	Dr. Muthu
Richard Cunningham	...	Hobson
Thomas Bewley	...	Baker
Anthony Calf	...	Robert Alfred Herman

Storyline

In the 1910s, Srinivasa Ramanujan is a man of boundless intelligence that even the abject poverty of his home in Madras, India, cannot crush. Eventually, his stellar intelligence in mathematics and his boundless confidence in both attract the attention of the noted British mathematics professor, G.H. Hardy, who invites him to further develop his computations at Trinity College at Cambridge. Forced to leave his young wife, Janaki, behind, Ramanujan finds himself in a land where both his largely intuitive mathematical theories and his cultural values run headlong into both the stringent academic requirements of his school and mentor and the prejudiced realities of a Britain heading into World War One. Facing this with a family back home determined to keep him from his wife and his own declining health, Ramanujan joins with Hardy in a mutual struggle that would define Ramanujan as one of India's greatest modern scholars who broke more than one barrier in his worlds.

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Plot Keywords:

academic | mathematics | mathematical series | mentor protege relationship | trinity college cambridge | 

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Taglines:

An equation has no meaning to me unless it expresses a thought of god.".

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and smoking

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the film Good Will Hunting when Stellan Skarsgård is trying to convince Robin Williams to take on Matt Damon he compares him to Srinivasa Ramanujan as an example of his extraordinary ability.

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Goofs

Ramanujan being a devout Vaishnava Iyengar Brahmin, doesn't worship Lord Ganesh(elephant faced god) as shown in the film when he goes to England(washes deities in a bowl of water).

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Quotes

Littlewood: Don't be intimidated. Great knowledge comes from the humblest of origins.

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Crazy Credits

Card before the title: "Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth but supreme beauty." - Bertrand Russell

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Connections

Featured in Projector: The Man Who Knew Infinity (2016)

User Reviews

excellent historical drama

Just saw this film at the SF Film Festival. I thought it was excellent. Why? It combines various levels of entertainment: the intellectual mathematics involved and the realities of academic competition; the historical and cultural conflicts between Indian and English traditions, attitudes, biases, and beliefs; the emotional love/friendship between men, between men and women, and between children and parents; and inhumanity towards other humans: warmongers vs. pacifists, religious vs. non-religious, individuals vs. groups, misunderstandings and lack of emotional intelligence in so many ways.

I comprehended very little of the mathematics involved but that did not matter and did not change my overall appreciation for the story and all the levels involved.

Kudos to all who created this film. The writing, the acting, the cinematography, the direction, all excellent...

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK USA Singapore Hong Kong United Arab Emirates India

Language:

English Tamil French Sanskrit

Release Date:

29 April 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Man Who Knew Infinity

Filming Locations:

The Charterhouse, Charterhouse Square, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$80,325, 1 May 2016

Gross USA:

$3,866,794

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,252,684

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pressman Film, Animus Films, Cayenne Pepper Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1