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 & 1 nomination.

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	...	Littlewood
Jeremy Northam	...	Bertrand Russell
San Shella	...	Dr. Muthu
Richard Cunningham	...	Hobson
Thomas Bewley	...	Baker
Anthony Calf	...	Howard

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 | india | madras india | 1910s | 

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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

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Tamil Sanskrit

Release Date:

29 April 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

El hombre que conocía el infinito

Filming Locations:

The Charterhouse, Charterhouse Square, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$80,325, 1 May 2016, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,866,794

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,158,142

Company Credits

Production Co:

Edward R. Pressman Film, Animus Films, Cayenne Pepper Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ramanujan married Janaki (Janakiammal) in July 1909 when she was only 10 years old. Janaki stayed in her maternal home till she was twelve and then Janaki and Ramanujan's mother came to live with him in Madras.

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Goofs

Forty-four minutes into the film, G. H. Hardy demonstrates that p(4) = 5 by showing that there are five different partitions for the number four. Then, he states that "when you raise the number of 'p' to one hundred, there are 204,226 different combinations", which is not true because the value for p(100) = 190,569,292. He meant to say that when the number is increased to fifty (not one hundred) there are 204,226 different combinations because the value for p(50) = 204,226.

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Quotes

S. Ramanujan: [gazing at the umbrella Hardy is carrying in full sunlight] Sir, do you know something I do not?
G.H. Hardy: [sarcastically] Apparently not!
[realizing the question referred to his umbrella]
G.H. Hardy: Oh! God and I don't exactly see eye-to-eye. So if I prepare for rain, then it won't. So far, so good.
[bellowing at the sky]
G.H. Hardy: I'm Hardy. And I'm spending the afternoon in the Wren Library!
[speaking again to Ramanujan]
G.H. Hardy: Now we're sure to have sunshine. Hmph. You see, I am what you call an atheist.
S. Ramanujan: No, sir. You believe in God....

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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 StarTalk: Jeremy Irons (2016)

User Reviews

Outstanding script and acting

An important film; cleverly mixing a love story with the equally deep themes of moral obligations on privilege to raise those without. At first I was concerned I would not be able to disassociate Dev Patel from the role on Marigold Hotel, but after a few lines which sounded too contemporary, he improved significantly.

Jeremy Irons was captivating and the other roles adequately developed. The direction, pace, setting, wardrobe, story, score -all hold the attention.

When I watched it, at the end, the audience applauded. In fact at the end of it, one wishes it could last longer - craving more.