Bollywood star SRK has a cameo in Madhavan's directorial debut

22 June – R. Madhavan recently revealed that Shah Rukh Khan has asked for no pay for him to appear in Madhavan's directorial debut, "Rocketry: The Nambi Effect".

The first-time director, who also plays the lead in the movie, shared that the collaboration came after the two worked together in "Zero", where Madhavan first shared his idea with the Bollywood superstar.

"He vividly remembered it during one of his birthday parties. He asked me about the film's status and expressed his desire to be a part of the film. 'I'm ready to play any role in the background. I want to be a part of this film', Mr Khan told me," he said.

Shah Rukh Khan appears in the first few seconds of the trailer

Madhavan stated that he thought SRK was joking at first, that is until he dropped a message to the actor's manager to thank SRK, and received the reply that read, "Mr Khan is asking about the dates of the shoot."

"That's how he became a part of our film," he said.

He also revealed that SRK didn't charge anything for his cameo role as a journalist in the movie, nor for their caravans, costumes, and assistants. This, he said, was the same with Tamil superstar Suriya, who also plays the same cameo in a different version.

The movie, to be released on 1 July worldwide, is based on the true story of S. Nambi Narayanan. A Princeton graduate, the Indian aerospace engineer-scientist worked for the Indian Space Research Organisation and was instrumental in developing the Vikas engine that would be used for the first PSLV that India launched but was falsely charged with espionage.

The film marks Madhavan's directorial debut