'The Man Who Knew Infinity' Stars on the Real Ramanujan

Stars Dev Patel and Jeremy Irons and director Matthew Brown stop by the WSJ Cafe to share the inside story of the new movie "The Man Who Knew Infinity" and discuss why the story of the Indian math genius Ramanujan is more important now than ever.
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[@munmunsha1]

I saw this movie in one of the theaters in the US and was really appalled by the fact that there were only 6 people in whole cinema theater. I guess we nee to make science and math more lovable in US and inspire young minds early on in school so can appreciate the true genius of people like Ramanujan

[@2ndborn283]

sam s wow 6 people only!!!

[@arsenalf.c6443]

sam s funny thing is here in India we never knew much about this movie. It just how it is all over the world.

[@gauravmanwani9148]

It got screens in just one state (Gujarat) in India and I had to struggle for 3 months to get this from the internet too. SAD, EXPONENTIALLY SAD.

[@johnbhai5297]

Hey sam ...in india ..no people dare to make this ..movee .. About indian genious...no ani cenama can release ..thanks hoolibood to .creat ..this and respect for ..a genious ..

[@darkseid856]

The thing is mostly students think that "studying" is kind of a burden . They were never taught to enjoy studies , take interest in it ! Because most schools teach us is that "Here are the course of next exam , learn it in the limited time and give exam " And because of this "limited time and more course" most students just mostly go for "rote learning" instead of actually understand and enjoy it !

[@MilciadesAndrion]

Ramanujan was a great mathematician who perhaps his greatness has not been so well known but has been compared to Isaac Newton, Euler, Einstein and others.

[@saneem4067]

No one can compare me.

[@sreshtayyappath3510]

Säñëëm sorry dude

[@Tomhardy8969]

Ramanujan was greater than them.. many of His formulas are still not understood by mathematician, scientists, etc even Today..

[@CSE_KaaveeyahS]

@@Tomhardy8969 true 💯💯 born as a mathematician 🔥

[@richardfeynman9341]

@@Tomhardy8969 lol...someone calling Ramanujan greater than Euler or Newton? haha...Please Euler constant alone outranked Ramanujan. I know it\s not fair to compare a man who live only upto 32 years of age but keeping above Euler or Newton is pure BS. Have u even heard of Evariste Galoi, he live only upto 20 years of age and yet changed mathematics.

[@jawedalam3119]

This movie is inspired me..he is a real Indian hero

[@mindatrest6838]

We should set our identity first.... students in ancient India were first taught to have a cosmic identity.... A man like Ramanujan comes once in a thousand years.... and when he came we didn’t even have enough paper for him to write his formulas....

[@Odinson399]

Beautiful

[@kungfumaster8171]

I recall as a young engineering student in calculus 3 class with the teacher staring a new topic - Infinite Series and states S.Ramanujan. I'll never forget the first time I herd his name; it sounded so majestic, regal even. And yes as a technical professional, i too wept at the end. This was a wonderful film and the actors where just fantastic.

[@science-y9209]

Why he had to die.. my heart aches to think that this wasn't a fiction movie..😭😭😭

[@Anime_strikes13]

@@science-y9209 Ramanujan was sent by goddess namagiri

[@pokemonaruto1984]

@@Anime_strikes13 Sri Namagiri Amman of Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, Bharat.

[@rashaadprice8133]

I love the energy that Dev Patel brings to his movies... Jeremy irons is a born actor.....I don't think he can anything else besides act...he just owns whatever role his given...

[@Satish_HK]

I watched this film on my phone because this movie had not released anywhere near around me. After watching it twice I wanted to know more and more about Shrinivas Ramanujan. When I discovered the book 'The Man Who Knew Infinity' on what this movie has the base ,I made no late to buy it. I read it and felt proud of being an Indian. Thank You Robert Kanigel for bringing out such a genius book with your top class writing skills..

[@pinakimazumder8488]

Jeremy Irons must win Oscar for his complex role in the movie, probably as a supporting actor. When a mentor realizes that the protege supersedes mentor's intellect, it is a complex intellectual challenge one confronts and that is artistically portrayed by Jeremy Irons.

[@susmitsarkar4293]

The myth that mathematics is boring is just that, rather it has a latent art within it which is very hard to manifest but those who do so through their endeavor understand the true art of mathematics.

[@starlet5350]

Facts.

[@adarshsingh6232]

The director of this seems a very calm and intelligent man...

[@realmofend]

When Jeremy Iron speaks I just listen carefully. What an incredible voice he has.

[@dawnezone8491]

loved it...and of course went on to watch documentaries about Ramanujan

[@normaldude6699]

This movie went away unnoticed , its a shame how people miss out such important beautiful stories that shaped the history of world

[@kuhelidas9387]

dev patel # an awesome actor playing # one of the pride and genius india did ever had......# full justice and a story , a man and his contributions should be known to everyone......

[@pindariclasses1269]

a awesome movie.......this is real indian .........

[@healingwithsource8819]

This is a beautiful movie around the differences in life and how calculus and mathematics is a symbolic language expressed thro Ramanujan as a source of explanation for those enlightened minds of the theologians of Trinity College and their disbelief that answers are more than theory and mind based understanding of life.......Cleverly constructed but somewhat cynical with respect to India and this gifted soul who was a translator of theory that created a magic and balance beyond mathematics........very much a sign of this time we are living where the intuition and heart are being asked to be embraced rather than quantified thro proof of who we are as Divine souls on a human journey and the uniqueness and balance of being human and multidimensional.....I enjoyed the movie and its message of creation , the beauty of India which is beyond words and this authentic energy shared thro complexity.....striving to be known and understood as a soul who is natural and free......Dev Patel is wonderful........Namaste.....

[@deepakjaat1450]

Respect💞

[@Aryan_Sanan]

Just came here after watching the movie ,OMG ramanujan movies was gem it can very be replaced in my heart. I gonna remember it for long time

[@vikneshgchandran1612]

This seems like it would be a fascinating watch

[@60monie]

En excellent and moving feature.. Well worth a look.. Great acting, good story and very well directed..

[@vanessadorian]

Forever be grateful to Matthew Brown and Warner Bros production for making this masterpiece.

[@ashutoshsahoo5479]

Many many thanks to make such a beautiful picture of all time. Love from india. God bless to whole team

[@andrewvargo1034]

Great Movie that introduces the world to the genius of Ramanujan. Dev Patel and Jeremy Irons both did a fantastic job portraying their characters. AAAAAAAAAAAAAA+++++++++++++++

[@VedikMantras]

Watching now.. huge respect!!!

[@dharmendranautiyal6]

i watch this movies atleast 10 time ..love u ramanujan love u dev patel

[@AnnamiekNu]

One of the best movies I've ever seen! Maybe the best. Weeped many times, both emotionally and out of awe. I felt really (divinely?) inspired to go on with my own life's work and get it published. Personal note: I had the same situation where the Greek mother of my boyfriend - the father of my son - withheld letters over five years. He got the letters thrown in his face when he wanted to go live in England with another girl. Then it became convenient for the mother to give them and tell him he couldn't go because he already had a son. Terrible what people do to eachother... A good situation and this movie to forgive her in all aspects of the matter. Thanx for making this movie, you all! Annamiek Nu, The Netherlands

[@shubhamsaha8758]

This film is a maestro's work. This is a global need to bring education and entertainment together and serve in the same plate. Loved the artwork. Hats off!! Namaskar.

[@Klobbrax]

The Rogers-Ramanujan identities are magical - it’s a pity the film shied away from mathematics.

[@43painter]

It's 2021 during Crazy Crisis and I happen to stumble over this film on an illegal streaming site on the net and I LOVED it [ and weaped a lot too ] ! An unforgatable film with a brilliant choice of casting indeed. I am Indosian and I know a thing of two about feeling discriminated. That's why I kept a big box of tissues beside me during the watch.

[@XOXOXOXOXOXOX88888]

Watched this movie yesterday. LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@achutharao3058]

When some one is passionately involved in something, he will always be thinking about his passion and trying to get the answer. It was same with Sri.Ramanujam. He loved Math and passionate about his love (Maths) always. So, he was getting some of them in his sleep through his Godess, because, certainly he was thinking those mathematical formulas whole day.

[@vwv.1d]

Achutha Rao bro i am preparing for iit jee.....i am in 12th.....i have a great passion for maths.....once i was studying maths and i am sticked on a problem.....in the way of solving that problem,i slept and in sleep i got the solution.....i swear i am telling you truth.....that something is behind that.....may be god provide direction

[@dominicbravo9360]

Thanks for playing it well. I'm really inspired

[@stilettonon4182]

I watched this movie today!

[@vadirajkanakagiri5028]

Awesome movie 👌👌.. Brilliance of Ramanujan is unparalleled

[@himanshu4uk]

His acting is awesome

[@milokaz2753]

One of the most beautiful movies

[@lovelywarje]

Mathew ,you have made a gem of a film. I like the way you have shaped the actors. Jeromy is perfect as always but Dev Patel is so perfect and comes alive as Ramanujan as do Hardy by Jeromy Iron.

[@venkateshmp9372]

I like the director work

[@subhashchandra6895]

Really, it is one of the best inspiring movie so much Director Brown sir so much

[@mangai3599]

Jeremy's voice is quite pleasing!

[@sicboi]

It was an OK movie. Like these actors and the Director said, it was more a human interest story (as all films generally are), but I thought had they dug deeper into the story of Ramanujan and what he was trying to express in his mathematical theories, it would have opened up a greater interest in the film's subject and his passion equally so.

[@vaasu5291]

That's right!

[@aalaptube]

I felt it was a just-okay movie. I did not think it portrayed enough the struggle of Ramanujan, nor feelings or thoughts of Hardy, and mostly nothing of Littlewood. I know much of this needs to be skipped over in the making of a commercial movie, but I found it lacking a lot.

[@May52938]

Great movie and a true story so refreshing.

[@priyabratamohanty4605]

My hero .... Ramanujan...

[@ganeshnagture3277]

Incredible movies 🎉🙏❤️all time...

[@AnilKumar-xl2te]

Dev Patel acted awesome 👏👏👏

[@poungkannan2365]

From Tamil Nadu.....mass Ramanujan ❤️

[@sasikalasasikala712]

A man who knew & Understood-- Ramanujan

[@homerunkongkay9532]

I belive I can mark scamble I don know very full in my head..fantastic

[@information6856]

I like Jeremy Irons voice.

[@srinivasmeduri7618]

Fentastic acting boss

[@CyeOutsider]

Wonderful film.

[@knightf8648]

The voice of Jeremy irons.

[@mitchelle4322]

If-I-spoke-like-Jeremy-Irons-I-would-never-stop-talking.

[@retesh173]

Jeremy's voice🔥

[@KeepCalmandLoveClassics]

Extraordinary Actors

[@godgene7427]

Batman Vs superman really!!!He is talking about batman Vs superman.... Show some respect ....you WSJ.

[@Itsmesara22]

Respect for the real G.H.Hardy , good movie and Jeremy's voice !! Love it

[@kunalvyasvlogs5485]

awsome moviee

[@srmegaraj]

In records its mentioned Ramanujan was born in Erode, Tamil Nadu, India but the movie shows only about Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India... It should have been really nice if they would have mentioned his birth place in the movie... However its a great movie

[@RVHello]

And alas, what a tough life his wife Janaki Ramanujan lead. Anti brahmisnism had taken over TN, the rest of India did not care, the country had too many issues related to winning independence and partition. Janaki supported herself as a poor tailor, dying at a ripe old age of 90+. Anyway, the book of the same title was a scintillating read (published in the 1990s I think, I read it around that time). So glad a movie got made and Jermey Irons and Dev Patel are outstanding.

[@DivyanshMMMUT]

Dev Patel's accent though.... Has changed completely

[@whatsinaname7289]

Is the movie out in cinemas now? Is it on DVD? And can I purchase it online? I'm very very interested in watching it, so any help is appreciated.

[@satyampotupureddi3165]

Available on utube

[@tango1980Mwj]

Science is pure.. it has no place for ego, hatred, nationalities... at the same time we have to understand the odds which Ramanujan had to overcome to be recognised at the highest level..

[@imtiazmohammad9548]

Ramanujan was an alien ,he taught humanity and left into another dimension

[@manasasandam9100]

I got strucked with Jeremy irons acting .He worth oscar

[@sociology_by_Harry]

Awesome movie 😍😍😍😍🎥🎥🎥🎥

[@naveenkumarduraisamy]

friends please see the tamil movie RAMANUJAM

[@kalaiy4429]

I did, but unfortunately the Tamil movie version did not evoke the kind of emotion and respect the English version, sorry. In fact, I've been watching more of documentaries and other entries only after watching the English version.

[@arsenalf.c6443]

Kalai Y yeah that's ok because this movie had such big budget with proper research and 1000x resources.

[@kalaiy4429]

Thanks, but am sure India is no less when it comes to resources but it all depends on where and how they want to channel the resources.

[@kurinjicomputers4361]

@@kalaiy4429 Yup me too

[@anilkaralamangala1431]

Whatever said and done Ramanujan is to be celebrated through his works and young students especially in schools should study about him so that maybe a few develop interest in maths and grow up as future Ramanujans. Especially in a country like India where talent and geniuses are everywhere, a spark is needed to ignite their passions.

[@jnsridhar]

Well done interview

[@sintongsihombing4384]

i have just watched it

[@vivekg2560]

Srinivasan ramanujan was greatest of all scientists and mathematicians till date

[@Robin-li7bm]

look dev Patel also talented about SR. Ramanujan also know black hole, star which discovered Ramanujan

[@janfayeebojo9718]

Great movie!

[@sarojhamal4330]

Very nice movie

[@anuradhainamdar8967]

So,so,exhilarating to see Dev ,Jeremy Irons, answer questions, yes,the movie was really about human relationships and how Jeremy understand Ramanujan intuitive intelligence when Ramanujan says ' every equation I come out with, is a expression of God' but G.H Hardy says I am a athiest. Yet because of their beliefs in maths they empathise.

[@devjoshi8124]

Funny how Dev didn't mentioned about π when asked about why should people care about Ramanujan.

[@science-y9209]

Dunno how many Undiscovered geniuses are out there in the world.. hope they don't die the way Rama did

[@iOSAndroidRebelForever]

I have a friend named Dev Patel.

[@ranjityadav9190]

I want this movie dubbed in hindi

[@MrSachin8006]

My ancestors were really genius ..but what has happened to me😓😓🤺

[@rajsingh7152]

To much bolywood.

[@subhashpatankar3337]

To much grid to much western culture & loss of confidence .The result no where to originally just job at MNC

[@MassCaMb0]

It's disappointing to hear these people describe in such detail their shear lack of respect and appreciation for mathematicians and mathematics in general. Why are they getting involved in telling the life story of a man who was known for his unfathomable passion for numbers?

[@rohitkumaram]

+MassCaMb0 leave it u ll never understand the word PASSION .

[@MassCaMb0]

+rohit kumar what?

[@Healthnutpb]

You're only interpreting what they said based on your bias. They very clearly said that the impression they had of mathematics before this story was a very boring and dry subject but after learning more about Ramanujan and this story they came to understand how mathematics especially for Ramanujan and others that love mathematics becomes a very artistic, colorful and passionate subject. You can't have mathematicians act in such movies, you need those passionate about acting to bring such stories to life. They had famous mathematicians on set that studied Ramanujan's theories, his life and where he grew up to guide these actors. I believe these stories not only enrich the actors that are a part of it but also the audience. You don't have to know math in order to understand passion and inspiration. You only need to understand that passion and inspiration is found in anything that moves you. This is the story of the human spirit and how he left such a mark on this planet as any genius did. ..whether they were painters, musicians, mathematicians, or peacemakers.

[@hariharankarthikeyan3604]

Leave it buddy, Rohit didn't understand how greatly you support Mathematical world. He is a crap.

[@rashaadprice8133]

John C ....maths has always been placed in the too hard basket by most of us....and it's shocking to hear these people who are literally from that too hard basket plays these characters with such conviction and honour these maths geniuses in such a manner...I suppose we all have our calling

[@user-ij2xr4fn3y]

nice movie

[@hannahduggan3599]

In The Man Who Knew Infinity, Dev looks just like he did in The Last Airbender. My parents hate Dev and say that he's a crazy kid. Mommy admits that Dev is cute, but she hates him and thinks that he's a crazy kid. And when I was 13 years old and my little brother Joseph was 11 years old, we were watching behind the scenes of The Last Airbender where Noah and Dev were fighting. When we saw Dev, we whispered to each other. I said, "man that guy is hot!" And Joseph said, "I know! I have a man crush on him!" And then Mommy and Daddy came into the living room. Mommy said, "NO! What is he doing on TV?! He's really cute, but I don't like him. That kid is more than infinity percent crazy." And Daddy said, "that crazy kid's a maniac! Don't be fooled by his cuteness!" Seriously, why do my parents think that Dev is a crazy kid?

[@SpecialAatmaen]

Hare Krishna 🙏😃

[@subrahmanyasastryvaranasi3592]

Srinivasa Ramanujan was true Genius and recognised as one of the greatest mathematicians of his time, without any formal training in mathematics. Many of his mathematical discoveries were based on pure intuition and most of them were later proved to be true. Our bad luck that he died at very early age....if he lived for another two decades means he could have discovered many things....may be those can be most advanced.

[@ganeshmirisker4173]

Every indian must watch the movie

[@rashaadprice8133]

Ramanujan was granted knowledge through the divine

[@bastav8162]

Jeremy irons really maths is boring?it's beautiful only to those who think they are living in that world!

[@avinashmurmuavinashmurmu9789]

I saw this movie

[@ashuu3]

I am proud that he was a vegetarian like me.

[@lord9562]

A little presumptuous. It should be ... "I'm proud that I am a vegetarian like him".

[@TheVicky3030]

Stupid comment.

[@darkseid856]

It doesn't really matter if he was vegetarian or not !

[@MrSachin8006]

Kuch bhi

[@iamssj3315]

I thought dev patel was just veey young but he looks completely ......

[@C.J.80]

We did gift/discover/invent (🤔) '0' to Mathematics and Physics!

[@jet5995]

It was never invented like that but introduced and arranged and invented how to use new number system created by hindus 6000 yrs ago for outside people to do maths. There was no thing as numbers in sanskrit original maths. the outsiders would have to learn Entire language so instead they created number system which followed slowly by arabs through Egypt then greek and more more followed all over world but still most of indian mathematicians didn't use that much of numbers and you don't see numbers at all in sanskrit maths at all

[@Abhishek-ti5er]

❤

[@euricequeen842]

Why is Jeremy Irons wearing a Roman Collar?

[@throughmyeyesyousee3416]

Srinivas Ramanujan was actually a real life Tony Stark and Banner combined .

[@somebodysomebody2671]

why the bollywood shyaway from making such movie

[@carpediem8533]

Because they make joke out of biopic

[@gollusingh007]

Indians are the most intelligent species in the world

[@skanda7506]

Ramanujan was a product of Kerala school of mathematics of INDIA, a very ancient school of thought of mathematics.

[@arsenalf.c6443]

sayan ghosh mondal could you explian further because i know about great 15th century mathematician named ..... from kerala. But Ramanujan learned maths on his own and not from any school of thought because he came from a very poor brahmin family.

[@skanda7506]

+dhruv kashyap He was a self trained man but he was exposed to kerala school of thought in a very early age. Traditionally his family was a lineage of Vishishtadvaita philosophers. When he was a child he was revealed to kerala school of thought in his house, in local temples, in his society etc. Traditionally in INDIA knowledge is transferred through culture. For example in his local temple a very famous play used to be performed called Gnan Choupat which is a puranic play but used the concept of kerala school. It was known as mathematical play among the locals. There were many other such cultural exposition of knowledge through music, dance etc. Therefore u see in his later life he gave more importance to the truth than to the rigorous proof. This was the basic difference between INDIAN and western school of mathematics. A very famous greek mathematician said that a man who is confined in his room and has not seen the world can know about the whole universe by deducing theories one after the other with rigorous logical proof. But for INDIAN mathematicians the mathematics is not devoid of experiment and observation. So if a theory works in real life and is understood through intuition and insight, they did not much worry about rigorous proof. That is why Ramanujan said that an equation means nothing to me unless it expresses a thought of god. Thought of god means knowing the truth. An example of western addiction about rigorous proof is that in 1925 alfred north whitehead and bertrand russell produced a paper of thousands of pages just to prove 1+1=2. Ramanujan used intuition and insight not rigorous logic to discover his theories.

[@sayantanighosh6103]

@@skanda7506 wonderful write up.Informative.

[@sujayghosh816]

@ sayan ghosh mondal : i guess u r inclined to math related research..but wonderful information u shared bro.

[@carpediem8533]

@@arsenalf.c6443 brahmins were the only ones allowed to study in traditional schools for your kind information.

[@Ricmo1]

Ramanujan was the greatest mathematician and a total genius! Now get T-Shirts of your favorite geniuses - Ramanujan, Tesla, Akhenaten, Sir Francis Bacon, Mahler and more. positively-genius.com

[@abhisekdas435]

how was d movie

[@DebasishOfficial]

Every Indian must watch

[@rpbehal]

If it was bollywood Tiger Shroff would have been sitting here with 2 hot chicks sitting by his side knowing nothing about Ramanujan

[@anmolagrawal5358]

"For me, Mathematics is sooo boring" - if GH Hardy were here, he would derive more pleasure from the proof of your demise than the sorrow caused by this statement