It
was
ignorant
on
his
part
to
say
the
'panchang’,
an
ancient
almanac
based
on
planetary
positions,
was
used
by
Indian
Space
Research
Organisation
(ISRO)
to
launch
the
Mars
Orbiter
Mission,
actor
R
Madhavan
said
on
Sunday
in
an
effort
to
quell
the
online
criticism
against
him.
At
a
promotional
event
of
his
upcoming
film
Rocketry:
The
Nambi
Effect
in
Chennai
last
week,
Madhavan
had
said
the
'panchang'
has
a
celestial
map
of
calculations
on
the
positions
of
planets,
how
their
gravitational
forces
act,
its
effects,
the
solar
flares,
etc.
which
was
used
while
working
towards
inserting
the
Mars
Orbiter
Spacecraft
into
orbit
in
2014.
A
video
from
the
event
went
viral
on
social
media
over
the
weekend
with
many
users
calling
out
the
actor,
in
response
to
which
Madhavan
tweeted:
"I
deserve
this
for
calling
the
Almanac
the
'Panchang'
in
tamil.
Very
ignorant
of
me.
Though
this
cannot
take
away
for
the
fact
that
what
was
achieved
with
just
2
engines
by
us
in
the
Mars
Mission.
A
record
by
itself.
@NambiNOfficial
Vikas
engine
is
a
rockstar
(sic)." Among
those
who
hit
out
at
Madhavan
for
his
comments
was
noted
Carnatic
vocalist
TM
Krishna.
Taking
a
jibe
at
the
actor's
statement
in
his
tweet,
Krishna
shared
the
link
to
Mars
Orbiter
Mission
profile
from
ISRO's
official
website.
"Disappointed
that
@isro
has
not
published
this
vital
information
on
their
website
https://isro.gov.in/pslv-c25-mars-orbiter-mission/mars-orbiter-mission-profile
Time
to
also
consider
a
Mars
Panchangam!" the
singer
wrote.
A
social
media
user
said
it
was
unfortunate
to
see
Madhavan
"officially
become
a
whatsapp
uncle
from
a
chocolate
boy
(sic)".
The
ISRO
had
launched
the
low-cost
Mars
spacecraft
on
a
homegrown
PSLV
rocket
from
Sriharikota
in
Andhra
Pradesh
in
2013
to
study
the
Martian
surface
and
mineral
composition,
and
scan
its
atmosphere
for
methane,
an
indicator
of
life
on
the
Red
Planet.
India
had
in
2014
successfully
placed
the
spacecraft
in
orbit
around
Mars
in
its
very
first
attempt,
joining
an
elite
club
of
countries
with
expertise
in
space
technology.
Madhavan's
directorial
debut
Rocketry
is
a
biopic
on
Nambi
Narayanan,
a
former
scientist
and
aerospace
engineer
of
the
ISRO,
who
was
falsely
accused
of
espionage.
The
film
is
scheduled
to
be
released
in
theatres
on
July
1.