The enticing teaser of Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran has us sitting on the edge of our seat as we anticipate the trailer release of this true to life thriller. After all, here’s John Abraham in all his buffed glory, bringing on screen a tale of greater national glory. The film portrays a landmark event in India’s history, when we became a nuclear power in 1998. This feat was achieved after a series of nuclear tests were conducted in 1998 in Pokhran, Rajasthan. However, this critical mission had been conducted under wraps, owing to the political and international climate of the time. It was only once it was successfully completed, that India’s victory was announced.

The film, starring John Abraham in the lead, explores this rousing tale through the eyes of the armed forces personnel, who play a crucial role in accomplishing the success of the nuclear tests. John Abraham had pegged this mission “the biggest secret operation ever that shook the entire world”. And he isn’t exaggerating.

Recommended Read: Watch the spellbinding teaser of John Abraham’s most ambitious project, Parmanu

History tells us that India’s nuclear test series consists of a pair of series: Pokhran I and Pokhran II. While Pokhran I, codenamed Smiling Buddha, was a single nuclear test conducted in 1974, Pokhran II was a set of two nuclear tests conducted in 1998.
Pokhran II, around which the film revolves, was a series of five nuclear bomb test explosions conducted by India at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range in May 1998. It consisted of five detonations, of which the first was a fusion bomb and the remaining four were fission bombs. Following the Pokhran-II tests, India became the sixth country to join the nuclear club.

While there was jubilation in the country, international reactions were less than pleasant. These nuclear tests resulted in a variety of sanctions against India by a number of major states, including Japan and the United States. The American intelligence community was embarrassed as there had been "a serious intelligence failure of the decade" in detecting the preparations for the test.

The Indian government went on to officially declare May 11 as National Technology Day in India to commemorate the first of the five nuclear tests that were carried out on this day.