A Mature Portrayal of Science and Sensibility
SonyLIV web series Rocket Boys is a rare exception among recent dramas, where an entertaining story of post-Independent India also holds up a mirror of truths.
While often worthy and enlightening, historical narratives rarely make for a truly immersive television experience. Shows on the monologue-embedded History Channel might arouse fascination for some, but they can bring about an incessant snooze-fest for the Gen Z and the Millennial watcher. The question then remains: How does one reignite an interest of the masses in one’s own historical past?
On occasion, mainstream Indian film makers have attempted to depict history in film and TV with drama-driven and fast-paced cult movies, like Rangoon (2017) and Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019); but these depictions often tend to exist in a self-absorbed bubble of hyper-nationalism, and their main selling point becomes the glorification of the Indian Armed Forces. Another category is that of sports-related historical films, which take the stage in the form of movies like 83 (2021) and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013). Nearly always, films like these conclude with a spectacular-yet-predictable victory for our ‘Does-No-Wrong’ historical protagonist.
Rocket Boys brings to light the very real struggle of a nascent, developing democracy, as it tries to compete with western nations in the realms of science and self-sufficiency. In his directorial debut, Abhay Pannu smoothly accomplishes the tricky task of making viewers excited about science and scientists.
Thus, rare is the exception which holds the story of post-Independent India in a mirror of truths. This exception has certainly materialised in the recent SonyLIV web series Rocket Boys.
It would be a reductionist understatement to say that Rocket Boys is merely a story of evolution of the Indian Sciences. While that is indeed an important theme in the series, the better part of the show focuses on the relationship between the two pioneers of modern Indian Sciences: Dr Homi J. Bhabha (Jim Sarbh) and Dr Vikram Sarabhai (Ishwak Singh). Rocket Boys also brings to light the very real struggle of a nascent, developing democracy, as it tries to compete with western nations in the realms of science and self-sufficiency. In his directorial debut, Abhay Pannu smoothly accomplishes the tricky task of making viewers excited about science and scientists, to the point where the arrival of important historical figures like C.V Raman and a young Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam (Arjun Radhakrishnan).
To the viewers’ delight, the show explores the fundamentals of colonial India and the uphill battles that crucified the makers of modern Indian science, as they attempted to set up the now-renowned institutes like the Indian Institute of Science, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. In the process of the same, the viewer finds a subtle yet healthy nationalist spirit growing within their heart—a balance rarely achieved by Indian productions in the past.
This spirit is beautifully demonstrated in the nuclear energy arc as depicted in the show. In a brightly lit hall in Trombay (the current home for Bhabha Atomic Research Center or BARC, Mumbai), scientists including Bhabha clamour as authorities of note gather for the testing of Apsara, Asia’s first nuclear reactor indigenously built by India. The show highly dramatises the impending test run of the reactor: Prime Minister Nehru’s visit is due for an inspection, and Bhabha character literally has to jump into the depths of Apsara’s waters to fix a nagging issue. What follows is a beautiful climax to the episode, as Apsara successfully produces India first bout of sustainable nuclear energy. It is a feat previously only achieved by the ‘developed’ nations of the West, and the scene leaves the viewer with a warm spirit of pride.
The majority of Rocket Boys also depicts the journey of our then-third world nation and its aspirations in the uphill battle of the atomic arms race against the rest of the world. However, the show also repeats the important fact that both its protagonists came from a place of upper-class privilege within Indian society—and they made use of that privilege to make lasting change for India.
Despite the acknowledgement of this privilege, Rocket Boys goes a step further, creating a large crevice of parallel stories of people who did not share the same privilege, and yet brought similar change. The most renowned of these would of course be the case of our former President Abdul Kalam. But this narrative introduces another noteworthy name, Dr Raza Mehdi (Dibyendu Bhattacharya). While Dr. Mehdi’s character is not directly based on a real scientist, he represents that facet within the pioneers of Indian sciences who do not fit into the palace of the privilege shared by other characters. Mehdi, a Shia—a traditionally conservative and oft-discriminated Muslim sect—is portrayed as someone who lived a life filled with struggle and strife, before establishing himself as a pioneer of nuclear physics in the country. It’s praiseworthy that Rocket Boys makes an attempt to focus on a story away from the stereotype of the typical Indian scientist, especially when situated in the light of the treatment Muslims receive in India today.
At the heart of Rocket Boys is a sincere attempt to portray the simple truth, instead of adding over-the-top heroics upon its chief characters. The series takes time to linger over the flaws of its two main men. Sarabhai has an affair with Kamala Chaudhary, his wife Mrinali Sarabhai’s best friend—it was a love triangle that gave birth to India’s premier Management institute, IIM Ahmedabad. Similarly, Bhabha’s personality quirks are brought into the spotlight too, including his over-ambitious nature and constant chase of glory, for which he burned a number of bridges in his rise.
In fact, the show also makes a brief yet noteworthy attempt to criticise the top-down approach of development practice, as followed by the Indian state in those days—before quickly self-correcting itself from commenting too much. Overall, this meta-ability of Rocket Boys to provide layers of depth makes for wonderful and immersive television.
In another iconic scene, Bhabha and Sarabhai, during their time at Indian Institute of Sciences in Bangalore in the late 30’s, remove the British flag and replace it with the Indian tiranga. It is an attempt to show parlance with India’s ongoing freedom struggle, and the act is performed in full view of the colonial benefactors of their institute. Both Bhabha and Sarabhai end up visiting the Bangalore district court for this offense, but the intense spirit of chutzpah and affinity that both these remarkable men had for their country is immortalised by this incident.
What makes Rocket Boys truly unique is Pannu's ability to carefully craft moments of juxtaposition, scattered throughout the show. He does this with an aim to show the clear demarcation in the existence of ‘Two Indias’—a rich and a poor—a trait that continues to haunt our nation even today—a nod to the recent monologue by comedian Vir Das. The show also pushes forward questions of self-reflection within the viewer on the state and divide of the Two Indias in present times, and perhaps provokes comparative questions of how much change—if any at all—has truly taken place in our country.
With brilliant performances and a tightly written script that doesn’t shy away from sticking to many more uncomfortable realities (including indulges in the realm of some conspiracy theories), Rocket Boys makes for a worthy six hours spent in front of your device—and it could go down as one of the best OTT series ever made in India.
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Atulya Pathak is a Masters student of Development at Azim Premji University. Formerly she was a full-time teacher in a low-income school. She studied History at a prestigious All-Girls College in the University of Delhi. Her areas of interest are Mediocre Science Fiction shows, Indian Politics, Mental Health & the environment. You can find her on Instagram at: @sherbet_lemon9.
