"In another scene, Ramanujan goes to the post office to see if there are any letters from his wife. When a dejected Ramanujan leaves the post office empty-handed, he is approached by a group of young men in military uniform. Ramanujan is mocked, kicked, pushed to the ground, and his face left bloodied. This event never occurred. There was not a single instance when Ramanujan was physically abused because of racial prejudice."
Why do you think this scene was manufactured? Should it be chalked up to trying to make reality more interesting or to an effort to deliver themes aligned with audience expectations?
Why do you think this scene was manufactured? Should it be chalked up to trying to make reality more interesting or to an effort to deliver themes aligned with audience expectations?
This convenient story seems to be picked up by a lot of people who have not read the book, e.g. "World War I throws the campus into chaos and exposes Ramanujan to more pointed racism." (http://www.filmjournal.com/reviews/film-review-man-who-knew-...) or "...what we received instead was a shameful expose of twentieth century racism, an exploration of otherness, professional jealousy and small mindedness" (http://teachingmathsscholars.org/news/the-maths-scholars-sch...)
In fact I've always found Ramanujan's story to be an excellent example of open-mindedness and the meritocratic approach to judging people.