Looks like we’re finally going to get a biopic about one of Pakistan’s many scientific minds. The glimpse for ‘Rafi’ was shared by Sonya Hussyn on her Instagram page. The film will be about Dr. Rafi Muhammad Chaudhry, the first director of PINSTECH.
Starring Affan Waheed as Rafi Chaudhry and Sonya Hussyn as his wife, the film will focus on his efforts to bring nuclear power to Pakistan.
The glimpse features many scenes from history including Quaid e Azam’s speech recognizing that hundreds of millions of Muslims can’t be considered a minority in India, Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel arguing about the future of Muslims in India, and Dr. Rafi debating staying in India or going to Pakistan.
The glimpse also features Australian physicist Dr. Mark Oliphant, a colleague of Dr. Rafi’s. He is shown writing a letter to Quaid e Azam emphasizing the importance of research in nuclear physics and recommending Dr. Rafi for the role.
Dr. Rafi Muhammad Chaudhry, though an important figure in Pakistan’s history, is less known among the public today. He graduated with a PhD in nuclear physics from Cambridge University and was instrumental in initiating nuclear research in Pakistan.
The Wikipedia entry on Dr. Rafi will give you the bullet points about his life, but ‘Rafi’ the film should give us the man behind all that.
Pakistan’s film industry has made very few biopics. ‘Jinnah’, ‘Shah’ and ‘Chaudhry’ come to mind. However, there has never been a feature film about a scientist. Here’s hoping that it turns out to be worthy of the Dr. Chaudhry himself.
