What Is the Story About?
SonyLIV’s flagship show ‘Rocket Boys’ centres on the endeavours of Indian science’s towering luminaries, Homi J Bhabha (Jim Sarbh) and Vikram Sarabhai (Ishwak Singh), and their struggles to establish India’s nuclear and space programs, respectively. The story gets more intense in Rocket Boys Season 2, as the CIA, along with moles in the Indian establishment, attempt to scuttle India’s ambitious project to create its own nuclear bomb. Rocket Boys Season 2 sees a larger role played by APJ Abdul Kalam (Arjun Radhakrishnan), the introduction of Indira Gandhi (Charu Shankar) as India’s PM, and a change of guard at the highest echelons of Indian science.
Rocket Boys Season 2 is created by Nikkhil Advani, written and directed by Abhay Pannu, and produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur, Monisha Advani and Madhu Bhojwani.
Performances?
If Ishwak Singh, as Vikram Sarabhai, is the heart of Rocket Boys, Jim Sarbh, as Homi J. Bhabha, is its soul. Together, the duo forms a formidable pair, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in the Indian content space in recent times. Both slip into their roles so effortlessly that it’s hard to tell the actor from the character. Jim Sarbh, in particular, is simply spectacular. Was Homi J. Bhabha equally audacious and irreverent in real life, as Jim Sarbh has portrayed him on reel? We’ll never know. Nevertheless, Jim Sarbh helps us get a glimpse of the enigmatic genius of Bhabha, and exceptionally well at that. Likewise for Ishwak Singh’s soft, sensitive, intuitive portrayal of Vikram Sarabhai.
It’s true that every other actor in Rocket Boys pales in comparison to the stellar performances of the aforementioned duo. Still, the entire supporting cast of the series rises to the challenge. Arjun Radhakrishnan is terrific as APJ Abdul Kalam, both in performance and body language. Regina Cassandra continues to be excellent as Mrinalini Sarabhai, Saba Azad, as Pipsy Irani, has relatively less to do this season, but still impresses in her curtailed role.
Dibyendu Bhattacharya as Mehdi Raza and K. C. Shankar as Mathur are as effective as they were in the previous season. Charu Shankar is brilliant as Indira Gandhi. The only discordant note in the cast is Namit Das as Prosenjit Dey – he just isn’t persuasive enough in the fictional role.
Analysis
Much like its debut season, Rocket Boys Season 2 opens on the defining event of the story – India’s stunning and successful first nuclear bomb test at Pokhran in 1974, nicknamed Operation Smiling Buddha. With that, India joined the exclusive coterie of select nuclear-powered countries. From then on, the story goes back in time by ten years to 1964, recounting how a fledging country lost the only Prime Minister it had ever known. More than that, the narrative depicts how Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s death in 1964 gravely affected India’s surging space and nuclear ambitions.
Who would have thought that Lal Bahadur Shastri, widely acknowledged as India’s most selfless Prime Minister to date, would be such a hindrance in matters of India’s scientific endeavors. Rocket Boys reveals several similar eye-opening facts, as also the myriad struggles that Vikram Sarabhai and Homi Bhabha faced in Shastriji’s days – getting sidelined in favour of the green and white revolutions, crippling budget cuts, India pandering to the whims of the Americans and the Russians, and what not.
Add to it, the widening chasm and escalating rifts between one-time comrades Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai, and Rocket Boys Season 2 makes for a truly entertaining and engaging watch.
The narrative of Rocket Boys Season 2 also showcases how Indira Gandhi’s ascent to the Prime Minister’s position proved to be a shot in the arm for India’s nuclear programme, and how the lady with nerves of steel was instrumental in India going ahead with its first nuclear bomb test, despite the CIA baying for their blood.
Despite all the goosebumps moments in Rocket Boys Season 2, there’s no doubting that it is infinitely grimmer, darker and slower-paced than its debut season. The mood, throughout most of Rocket Boys Season 1, was one of hope and anticipation. In Rocket Boys Season 2, knowing what we do about Homi Bhabha’s controversial death steeped in mystery, the mood often turns dark, sombre, and full of dread and foreboding.
Picking up various threads from the annals of history, and resorting to a mix of fact and fiction, the series weaves a compelling story, which though slow-paced, plays out like a spy thriller. The addition of actual, real-life footage from the archives, adds an impressive authenticity and intrigue to the proceedings.
Director Abhay Pannu often deploys interesting symbolism to make an evocative point in his storytelling. He also leverages fascinating quotes from past greats to convey the erudition and wisdom possessed by both Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai.
That said, the slow pace of the series gets to you sometimes, compelling one to hit the forward button several times in the series. Also, it’s quite surprising that the writers thought it fit to tell the stories of Lal Bahadur Shastri and Homi Bhabha through the lens of the conspiracy theories that abound in popular culture. Neither has ever been proven to be true, which is why Abhay Pannu would have been better off not including the controversial angles in his narrative – if only for the sake of authenticity.
To sum it up, Rocket Boys Season 2 is a worthy follow up to the debut season of the show. It has drawbacks aplenty – the exceedingly slow pace and heavy fictionalising of the story being the main ones. But it is a gripping and compelling watch, nevertheless.
Music and Other Departments?
Achint Thakkar’s background score and music is as good as ever in Season 2. Harshvir Oberai’s cinematography resorts to an even darker, grimmer pallette this season, lending a haunting starkness to the story. Maahir Zaveri’s editing is fine, except for a glaring lack of sticking to a stringent runtime.
Highlights?
Jim Sarbh’s charismatic act
Ishwak Singh’s earnest performance
The rest of the casting
Excellent writing
Accomplished direction
Drawbacks?
Exceedingly slow pace
Heavily fictionalised
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes
Will You Recommend It?
Yes
Rocket Boys S2 Web Series Review by Binged Bureau
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