PATNA: After celebrated Bihar mathematician and ‘Super 30’ coaching institute founder Anand Kumar, another mathematical genius from Bihar, Vashistha Narayan Singh, is set to become the subject of a Bollywood biopic to be directed by Prakash Jha.
Singh, now 76, has been languishing in obscurity for nearly three decades after making a splash in the world of mathematics. At the beginning of a prestigious teaching career in the University of California at Berkeley (UCB), he was diagnosed with schizophrenia that unexpectedly cut short his promising career.
Many people who have worked with Singh claim that he had challenged Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.
Mumbai-based production houses Reel Life Entertainment and Vinay Pictures have announced the biopic on the mathematical genius and his tragic fate. This will be the second biopic on modern mathematicians from Bihar. A film on Anand Kumar, starring Hrithik Roshan and directed by Vikas Bahl, is already on the works.“Vashistha Narayan Singh remains one of the greatest mathematical prodigies in the world. His wonderful early success in mathematics, his journey towards the top and the sudden loss of all hope have fascinated me for long,” said Priti Sinha, one of the producers. Her father Vinay Sinha, who produced Bollywood comedies like Andaz Apna Apna, said he has been researching on Singh’s life for years to make the movie.
Award-winning director Prakash Jha has agreed to direct the film, said Priti. “Singh is our national
treasure. His life is so inspiring. I would love to direct a biopic on him,” she quoted Jha as saying.
The producers are yet to finalise the actors, but sources familiar with the project said it is going to be a big-budget movie and a top star could be signed. A major part of the movie could be shot at locations in Bihar, they added.
