The film is based on the life of Nambi Narayanan, played by Madhavan, a scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation who was accused in an espionage case and later exonerated.

The story spans across Narayanan's days as a graduate student at Princeton University, before exploring his work as a scientist and the false espionage charges placed upon him.

During the present time, in a televised interview with actor Shah Rukh Khan (Hindi)/Suriya (Tamil), Nambi Narayanan walks through the events leading to his rise as an eminent engineer to alleged espionage and treason charges, coupled with physical and mental cruelty against him and his family.

At this point, Nambi strikes a deal with the French scientific community, which needs skilled scientists to help them build their liquid fuel engine.

While the USSR is on the brink of collapse, Nambi and his colleagues manage to expedite the transfer process and sneak out a couple of engines from under the Americans' nose, with the help of the Russians.

It was alleged that Nambi met Mariam, a Maldivian woman, in a hotel in Madras, and after being caught in her trap, he was forced to sell India's rocketry secrets to Pakistan.

Mariam and her friend reveal that the Malayali police officer in charge of the investigation, Gopal, tortured and threatened them to falsely incriminate Nambi, whom they have never met before.

A film based on the espionage case of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist Nambi Narayanan was first announced to the media in September 2012 by director Anant Mahadevan.

[8][9] Malayalam actor Mohanlal was cast in the role of Narayanan, while Resul Pookutty, Sreekar Prasad and L. Subramaniam were finalised as the sound designer, editor and music composer for the project.

[11] Work on Rocketry: The Nambi Effect was first reported by Madhavan in the media during April 2017, when he announced that he was set to appear in a biopic featuring the "extraordinary story of an unsung hero", who was "neither an actor nor a sportsman".

[12] To develop the script and to provide a more factual account of the events, Madhavan regularly met with Narayanan, garnering his approval for the film and discussing the scientist's life experiences.

As a result of their conversations, Madhavan chose to alter his original script to include portions from Narayanan's entire career and his services to the Indian space programme, rather than just matters related to the espionage case and his 1994 arrest.

[13][14] For the script, he also took inspiration from Narayanan's autobiography Ormakalude Bhramanapadham (2017) and Arun Ram's official biography of the scientist titled Ready To Fire: How India and I Survived the ISRO Spy Case (2018).

[17] He also added that he felt that Madhavan was the "only Indian actor qualified to do this part" owing to his background as an electronic engineer with air-force training, and because he was "a thinking-actor who is also well-read".

[21][22] Film director and writer Prajesh Sen, who had previously co-written Ormakalude Bhramanapadham and worked on a documentary titled Nambi The Scientist, joined the project as a co-director.

[26][27] During the first schedule in India, Simran joined the film's cast to portray the wife of the lead character, while actors Shah Rukh Khan and Suriya agreed to make cameo appearances in the Hindi and Tamil versions respectively as themselves.

[45][46] A number of film personalities including Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Suriya, Hrithik Roshan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu also shared and praised the trailer.

The screening was also attended by India's Information and Broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur and music composer A. R. Rahman, among other film industry personalities and senior government officials.

[50][51] The team then embarked on a 12-day tour across the United States, with preview screenings held at various centres including New York City, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Arizona, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle during early-June 2022.

[52][53] As a part of the film's promotional tour, the trailer was screened on the Nasdaq MarketSite billboard at Times Square in New York,[54][55] while the team also met with the American astronaut of Indian origin, Sunita Williams, in Texas.

"[82] Ronak Kotecha of Times Of India gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and said, "It has an interesting subject and an untold story of a man, who was wronged for always being right for his nation.

"[83] Shubham Kulkarni of Koimoi rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Rocketry is a movie that must be celebrated because an artist has tried to come out of his comfort zone and tell a story not many could dare.

"[84] Sanchita Jhunjhunwala of Zoom TV rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "With a roller coaster of a ride on the screen depicting the one Nambi had in real life, we feel that the movie has great potential and would keep you hooked as you watch more of it.

"[85] A critic for Bollywood Hungama rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "The Nambi Effect tells a shocking story of an ISRO genius and is embellished with an award-winning performance by R Madhavan.

"[87] Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Before it launches into its main argument, Rocketry lurches from one amateurish eureka moment to the next.

"[88] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Madhavan the actor does a fine job of traversing a spectrum of moods - from elation fuelled by the character's professional highs to anguish triggered by his plummet into ignominy.

"[92] Bharathi Pradhan of Lehren rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "If only the writing had been skillful in bringing out and coalescing the humour, the brainwork, the international romps for research and nuclear deals, … Rocketry: The Nambi Effect would’ve been an overwhelming and nail-biting experience.

"[93] Srinivasa Ramanujam of The Hindu noted "the first half feels like a science class, but the second, packs some emotional heft to ensure Rocketry lands well", calling the intention "noble.

"[95] Monika Kukeja of the Hindustan Times gave the film a positive review, noting Madhavan "is a one man army who puts up a spectacular, inspiring show.