India’s first F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan’s life to be immortalised on screen

Twenty years ago, Narain Karthikeyan made history when he became the first Indian to race in Formula One at the 2005 Australian GP for Jordan Grand Prix team and broke the glass ceiling.

Now, his inspiring and pioneering journey is set to be immortalised on the silver screen through a feature film. The Tamil-language biopic, to be directed by Mahesh Narayanan, is expected to hit the screens next year. 

“People understand what F1 is now after Drive to Survive (documentary series on F1 championships) on Netflix, and now the F1 movie as well. So it’s great to tell the story about India’s first F1 driver. To break all the barriers to get there coming from India, there is a lot of drama in it,” said Narain in a chat with The Hindu.

Wild journey

“You can see how tough it is, and F1 has always been like this. It is tough to be one of the elite 20 drivers. To then break other barriers, it was tremendously difficult. However, it was exciting as well. Formula One was my dream, and I think it was a fantastic and wild journey,” added the former F1 driver who started 46 races over three seasons (2005, 2011-12).

Narain revealed that the project has been in the works for the last 18 months, and he will be involved in ensuring the on-track action is filmed realistically, which will include training the lead actor in the basics of racing.

“Through this story, we want to show Indians can compete in F1. If it could be done 20 years ago, it can be done now, and hopefully, this inspires the next generation of sportspersons and racers,” said Narain.