Rocket Boys – the new SonyLIV web series streaming now – is largely a masterful act. As a character drama, Rocket Boys deftly balances the personal and professional worlds of his dual lead roles: the father of the Indian nuclear program Homi Bhabha (Jim Sarbh, of Made in Heaven), and the father of the Indian space program Vikram Sarabhai (Ishwak Singh, of Paatal). lock). Rocket Boys – written and directed in its entirety by debutant Abhay Pannu – is sometimes ruminating, reflecting on the characters’ internal struggles, pursuits and challenges. It describes their brilliance and perseverance (aside from their friendship), but it is also not afraid to take into account the fact that Bhabha and Sarabhai did not always keep their promises.
While the milder Sarabhai was more in touch with elevating the lives of the underprivileged, it is through the savage Bhabha that Rocket Boys touch that perpetual debate about great minds. Geniuses and purposeful men — from Michael Jordan to, well, Bhabha — are selfish. They don’t think about what’s good for everyone, nor do they care about the ego, feelings, and mental state of others. Bhabha didn’t become the man we know him by waiting, he seized opportunities and pushed through. At the same time, Rocket Boys are smart enough to show that this way of life creates powerful enemies – although thankfully the SonyLIV series slides deep into conspiracy territory.
Rocket Boys are also smart enough to recognize that the opportunities that came their way – and this is true for both Bhabha and Sarabhai – was partly due to their privilege. The eight-episode SonyLIV series never shied away from dissecting that, though it does get carried away in other places, projecting them as saviors in ways that feel too simple.
As a long-form piece of entertainment, Rocket Boys not only gives us a glimpse into the confluence of science and politics, but delivers – spanning three decades, the 1940s, 50s and 60s – an outline of the world of pre- and post-Independence India. It shows the hopes, needs, aspirations and demands of a brave new India. But it’s not always a pretty picture. Featuring a mix of privileged children, Rocket Boys shows how elitism overruled egalitarianism in democratic India.
From Rocket Boys to Looop Lapeta, what to watch in February
And in other places, Rocket Boys also serves as a reminder of how science is sometimes so little about science. Bhabha may have been a great physicist, but he was first and foremost a showman. It is generally accepted that Bhabha made too much promises to India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru (Rajit Kapur, from The Making of the Mahatma). While some of Bhabha’s rivals achieved results and were ignored, Bhabha seduced India’s political elite with his showmanship. Rocket Boys is depressing proof that people would rather invest in something cool than something that has a better chance.
It all comes together in the new SonyLIV series thanks to writer-director Pannu – formerly associate director of the Amazon Prime Video series Mumbai Diaries 26/11 – working on a story concept by Abhay Koranne (Bhavesh Joshi Superhero). Pannu co-wrote Rocket Boys’ dialogues with lyricist Kausar Munir (83, Gunjan Saxena). For someone who has never made a feature film or elongated project, this is confident filmmaking – assured of its abilities, Rocket Boys isn’t afraid to move at its pace. Pannu’s direction, in combination with Maahir Zaveri’s editing, is good at setting tone and conveying emotion. They know exactly how long to linger at moments to let you sense what the characters are going through, and to hint at what’s left unsaid and happening beyond the surface.
However, Pannu is not the creator of Rocket Boys. That credit goes to Batla House director Nikkhil Advani, in addition to his production banner Emmay Entertainment and Roy Kapur Films from fellow Rocket Boys producer Siddharth Roy Kapur. This is the second time an Advani project has listed its “creators” in this strange, matter-of-fact manner – the aforementioned Mumbai Diaries was the other – where production houses are named next to a person.
The cinematography of Harshvir Oberai, coupled with the great production design of Meghna Gandhi, evokes the period well at Rocket Boys. And after his immense success with the theme for Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, it makes sense that SonyLIV and the Rocket Boys team would turn to composer Achint Thakkar. In a number of places, the Rocket Boys soundtrack unconsciously or consciously conjures up a popular Bollywood score. But beyond that, Thakkar does a great job – besides (once again) delivering an exquisite intro theme.
Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein Review: A pulpy thriller typical of Netflix India
Ishwak Singh as Vikram Sarabhai in Rocket Boys
Photo credits: SonyLIV
When Rocket Boys opens, it will be 1962 and China has just declared war on India. The relationship between Bhabha and Sarabhai is at its lowest point. While the pragmatic Bhabha believes India’s best bet is to announce that they are about to develop an atomic bomb – as a deterrent – the peaceful Sarabhai is stunned. Convinced that this is the wrong approach, he tenders his resignation. The new SonyLIV series then jumps back 22 years to 1940. Sarabhai studies in Cambridge, gets caught in The Blitz and decides to return to India. Shortly afterwards, thanks to the connections of his father Ambalal Sarabhai (Muni Jha), Vikram ends up in Bangalore at the Indian Institute of Science to conduct research with Nobel Prize-winning physicist CV Raman (Karthik Srinivasan).
Elsewhere, in 1940, at the Calcutta College of Science, Bhabha works as a professor. The founder of the institute, Medhi Raza (Dibyendu Bhattacharya) tries to recruit him for good, but Bhabha knows that he is destined for greater things. He also seems to have reservations about the financing of Raza from the Muslim League. By the time Sarabhai arrives in Bangalore, Bhabha has established a cosmic ray unit at IIS under Raman. However, he’s not entirely happy to have left Calcutta behind, with funding from IIS far from being able to provide Raza. Bhabha and Sarabhai’s relationship turns into a mentor-mentee while the former also develops a rivalry with Raza who feels like he is being watched at every stage due to Bhabha’s privileged parentage and showmanship.
Although Raza is a character created for Rocket Boys, he is a version of the famous astrophysicist Meghnad Saha who, like Raza, came from a poor lower caste family, was a rival to Bhabha and opposed Nehru who was a privileged class. Raza is not the only fictional character in the SonyLIV series. Saba Azad plays Bhabha’s neglected love interest Parvana “Pipsy” Irani, whose creators I believe are fashioned as a foil to show Bhabha’s obsession with his work, and as a counterpart to Sarabhai’s love interest and acclaimed dancer-choreographer, wife Mrinalini Sarabhai (Regina Cassandra). Through Pipsy and Mrinalini, Rocket Boys reveals the shortcomings of its male protagonists in the personal department – and it is able to draw parallels thanks to the creation of Pipsy.
Human review: Shefali Shah pulls the strings in Hotstar’s overambitious Machiavellian drama
Regina Cassandra as Mrinalini Sarabhai in Rocket Boys
Photo credits: SonyLIV
Rocket Boys’ protagonists may be male and the world is male-dominated, but the new SonyLIV series never loses sight of the fact that there were women on the sidelines who supported Bhabha and Sarabhai – but failed to show their care and to receive appreciation. And it also makes for some clever humor, flipping traditional romantic overtures to show how men can be selfish.
The dynamic between Bhabha and Sarabhai is enjoyable and comical in places – they joke and take each other’s business – although Rocket Boys’ attempts to be funny don’t always pay off. In an early episode, it takes on a smug tone against the colonial British. I get the idea, but not only does it feel anachronistic, but the shenanigans against the British are distracting and don’t really serve a purpose. Except to fill some sort of patriotism checkbox. It’s unnecessary and a rare sign that Rocket Boys are going overboard with his material.
But overall, Rocket Boys remains steady as it ascends to the stratosphere. Through its two strokes of genius, the SonyLIV series outlines the vision and prospects of a newly independent nation, where hundreds of millions imagined and demanded a better and greater and equal future for all. Along the way, it touches on issues of caste, gender, privilege, religion and ideologies – topics that still form the foundation of India today.
Despite all the exploits of Bhabha, his promises remained unfulfilled. In an early episode, as Bhabha delivers a passionate speech about energy self-reliance – a dream we have yet to realize – and a future where nuclear power will take over from coal to illuminate all of India, Rocket Boys feels like a product of science fiction. . After all, more than 70 years later, the country’s energy needs are still largely met by coal. Last year, new coal mines were auctioned. In addition, India is the second largest importer of coal in the world. Nuclear power is currently responsible for only 3 percent of India’s energy. The figure for coal? Over 70. If Bhabha were alive today, I can imagine that would be hugely disheartening.
Rocket Boys feels homesick for a more optimistic India—an India that had the world at its feet, an India that emerged from centuries of oppression, and an India that encouraged pluralism. An India where anything was possible. In these dark and depressing times when everything India once stood for is being razed to the ground, Rocket Boys is both necessary and a response to the country we have become.
All eight episodes of Rocket Boys were released on SonyLIV in India and around the world on Friday, February 4 at 12:00 PM IST.
