Dhanush is set to step into the shoes of one of India’s former president and aerospace scientist Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam in the upcoming biopic Kalam: The Missile Man of India.
Produced by Abhishek Agarwal, Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, and Anil Sunkara, the film was officially unveiled at the prestigious Cannes Film Market on Wednesday.
Directed by National Award-winning filmmaker Om Raut, best known for Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, the film aims to capture the essence of Kalam’s extraordinary life. From his humble beginnings in Rameswaram to becoming the architect of India’s missile programs and eventually rising to serve as the 11th President of India, the narrative draws deeply from Kalam’s bestselling memoir Wings of Fire.
The screenplay is penned by Saiwyn Quadras, the writer behind critically acclaimed biopics such as Neerja, Maidaan, and Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran.
In a statement to American entertainment portal Variety, the producers described Dhanush’s role as “one of the most transformative and defining performances of his career,” lauding the actor’s “remarkable range and emotional depth.”
Director Om Raut emphasised that the film is more than just a political biography. “This is an insight into leadership and nation-building,” he told Variety. “We aim to explore the man behind the missile programs and the presidency — the poet, the teacher, the dreamer whose every word carried both science and spirituality in equal measures.”
Born on October 15, 1931, in the small town of Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, Kalam came from a modest background. His father was a boat owner and imam at a local mosque, and the young Kalam sold newspapers to support his family. Despite financial challenges, he excelled in academics, particularly in science and mathematics, and went on to study aerospace engineering at the Madras Institute of Technology.
Dr. Kalam began his career at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) before moving to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). As project director of India’s first satellite launch vehicle (SLV-III), he was instrumental in deploying the Rohini satellite in 1980 — a significant milestone in India’s space program.
He later returned to DRDO and played a central role in India’s missile development programs. His leadership in developing ballistic missiles like Agni and Prithvi earned him the moniker “Missile Man of India”. He was also a key figure in India's 1998 nuclear tests in Pokhran.