On the climb to the peak, regret and ruffled feathers are inevitable companions. They had to make recurrent appearances when cricketer, musician, artist and most of all, nuclear physicist Homi J Bhabha got picked by JRD Tata for a grant, when Jawaharlal Nehru appointed him Chairman of India’s first Atomic Energy Commission and backed his nuclear energy programme all the way to the atom bomb.
Director Abhay Pannu with fellow writers Abhay Koranne (who collaborated on the story) and Kausar Munir (who co-wrote the dialogues) transport the viewer with friendships that go up and down, rocky relationships and the serious genius that went into making India’s nuclear history.
Romance and betrayal with compatibility and clashes make the eight-episode series of success and succession celebratory yet dotted with human frailties. The music (Achint Thakkar) that accompanies the credit titles nutshell it – drama with poignant tinges when the violin strums a solo and a build-up which foretells that it’s getting darker.
Pannu mixes heaps of fact with bits of fiction to tell the story of India’s nuclear energy independence and the country rocketing into the space age.
When you go into India from the 1930s to the 1960s, the feel is vital. Pannu gets visible support from the production and art design teams (Meghna Gandhi, Pradeep Nigam) to chronicle the triumphant lives of Homi J Bhabha (Jim Sarbh) and Vikram Sarabhai (Ishwak Singh) – triumph that was aided by the hefty contribution of CV Raman (Karthik Srinivasan), Jawaharlal Nehru (Rajit Kapur) and APJ Abdul Kalam (Arjun Radhakrishnan). The two scientific brains had privilege right from birth but topmost was their genius, their drive and their vision to power India’s nuclear growth.
Natty Homi in his western formals, Vikram in his kurta-pyjama and Abdul Kalam with his unruly locks have been a part of India’s proud nuclear history. Against a backdrop of politics that includes the accession of Travancore to India, the Chinese aggression and the CIA’s unyielding attempts to thwart India’s nuclear programme, Jawaharlal Nehru is positioned as the leader who first talked of India’s atma nirbhata (self-reliance) and propelled her towards nuclear independence.
Friction exists at all levels and in different doses. Between staunch allies Homi and Vikram who have their clashes too, and between celebrated nuclear physicist, the fictitious Raza Mehdi (Dibyendu Bhattacharya) who yearns for but never gets his place in the sun and Homi, the chosen one by JRD Tata and by Nehru. Homi is the one who can address the PM as “Bhai” but that equation too can sometimes run into rough weather.
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Love and romance blossom. It’s a chuckle when Vikram woos Mrinalini, and the scientist in him likens the feeling to gravity and magnetic pull. Before the undercurrents of discord and disagreement take over.
So there’s always tension around the corner.
Rocket Boys gets its ratings for some spirited performances. Right on top is Jim Sarbh, armed with the natural blessing of Parsee genes but going way beyond to make the stylish, accomplished Homi J Bhabha completely credible.
Regina Cassandra as Mrinalini Sarabhai with large, lovely eyes and a Madhuri Dixit kind of charm, carries herself with stylish ease and is gorgeously turned out.
Ishwak Singh is earnest and Saba Azad (as Homi’s girlfriend Parvana Irani) is perky.
However, this is a product for a sophisticated audience. A lot of Physics terminology, much English, and a smattering of Tamil, Bengali, Gujarati, French and Russian in the dialogues won’t engage those whose daily consumption of content lingers around gangsters and gaalis. The language in fact is more contemporary than mid-20th century as ‘Trust me’ and the eff word occasionally crop up.
Some messages are clear. There must be a pot-pourri of religions and cultures to showcase diversity. Homi, the upbeat Parsee who won’t abort a mission, applause for victory is a must. The Sarabhais of Ahmedabad, wife Mrinalini (Regina Cassandra) from Chennai, and a few other names like loyal scientist Mathur (KC Shankar) and journalist Prosenjit Dey (Namit Das) take care of the majority community pan-India. A cooperative bishop in Kerala and a disgruntled but patriotic Muslim are must-include elements. As for cultures, a hybrid wedding with south Indian customs topped off with ballroom dancing and a Parsee marriage ceremony are stirred in.
While celebrating our rocket boys, the show is also a clear ode to Nehru as a line towards the end, ‘Make way for the new’ focuses on Jawahar in the background with Indira in the foreground.
I guess it’s indelible history.