Rocket Boys 2: Jim Sarbh and Ishwak Singh excel in this emotionally charged drama

Cast: Jim Sarbh, Ishwak Singh, Regina Cassandra, Saba Azad, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Charu Shankar, Rajat Kapoor, Arjun Radhakrishnan 

The first season of Rocket Boys on SonyLiv received a lot of attention and follow-up opinion pieces across the internet. Some of these articles questioned the authenticity of the story. However, the fact that the series triggered such a huge response validates its impact and reach. 

The show is currently among the top 10 Indian web series on IMDB. While it takes creative liberties, Rocket Boys keeps the key contributions and decisions of Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai intact. It tells a compelling story about scientific research in an underdeveloped and young democracy.

In the second season, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s ‘mad scientists’, Bhabha (Jim Sarbh) and Sarabhai (Ishwak Singh), are older, more mature, and grappling with high goals but limited funds. Both are determined leaders to their young teams of scientists, although Bhabha’s eccentric decisions grate on his colleagues. The two of them almost always disagree on their purpose as scientists but remain close friends who get each other.

Bhabha is determined to reduce American control over India’s nuclear programme, even if it ruffles the United States’ feathers. While Sarabhai has to partner with NASA and gain the support of the United States for India to successfully launch communication satellites.

Bhabha remains friends with Pipsy (Saba Azad), his ex-lover who is married to a Parsi Army officer. She is his closest confidante, despite having chosen another person. 

Meanwhile, Sarabhai grapples with the consequences of his affair with Kamla Chaudhary (Neha Chauhan), who is integral to managing IIM-Ahmedabad. His marriage to Mrinalini Sarabhai (Regina Cassandra) is a sullen affair of unfinished conversations and unaddressed hurt.

A P J Abdul Kalam (Arjun Radhakrishnan) has a greater role to play as India’s nuclear programme accelerates, and Bhabha’s opposing colleague, Raza Mehdi (Dibyendu Bhattacharya), has a steep price to pay for a misunderstanding with his boss.

Rocket Boys 2 sets up geopolitical tension and tough challenges for its scientists from the first episode, which starts with May 18, 1974 when The Buddha ‘smiled’ and India tested its first nuclear bomb. It throws back to the past when Bhabha is single-mindedly driving a covert operation to build a plutonium reactor and figure out ways to build a bomb without American raw materials or equipment. As Pandit Nehru (Rajat Kapoor), India’s first Prime Minister and a mentor to the Rocket Boys dies, his daughter Indira Gandhi (Charu Shankar) gradually prepares to become the country’s leader. 

This season takes forward the story of India’s dependence on American and Soviet support for its defence, weaving in the unfortunate death of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and a conspiracy theory about Bhabha’s death. It shows the optimism of a new nation moving forward with scientific leaps, when Doordarshan begins broadcasting Krishi Darshan to India’s villages.

The CIA was determined to control India’s defence in the post-Independence era. Indira Gandhi’s tough decisions as prime minister and her dogged ability to push aside foreign pressure helped sustain support for India’s nuclear defence and research programme, finally leading to a successful nuclear launch. Beyond its interesting plot, Rocket Boys 2 has created an inspiring story about true patriots and visionaries. 

The writing by Abhay Pannu competently captures the moral conflict of the characters—whether it’s Sarabhai’s reluctance to build a nuclear bomb or the determination of Abdul Kalam, Raja Ramanna, and his team to follow Bhabha’s vision. 

Set in the sixties and the seventies, Rocket Boys 2 utilises the social interactions of Sarabhai and Bhabha, and the women in their lives to focus on the open-minded and liberal mindsets prevalent then. Sarabhai’s wife Mrinalini is not a suffering damsel but a dancer who uses her mastery over classical dance to express her emotional suffering. Nor does she accept Sarabhai’s attempts at reconciliation without protest. Bhabha’s relationship with Pipsy is free from conventional structures, making it heartfelt. 

With detailed production design (Meghna Gandhi) and fine cinematography (Harshvir Oberai), Rocket Boys 2 creates a sepia-toned world where the sheer ability to dream by its protagonists leaves a lasting impression. Indira Gandhi’s predicament in surviving the political mess after her father’s death has been set effectively against the challenges that both Bhabha and Sarabhai have to deal with, in their projects. Their parallel journeys together underline the complexities that these individuals had to deal with to give India a massive head start in its mission to become a nuclear nation. 

The biggest hurrah in Rocket Boys 2 has to be for its lead actors, Sarbh and Singh. Both inhabit their characters with ease and conviction, therefore making the few scenes featuring both of them among the season’s high points. Dibyendu Bhattacharya deserves a special mention for his performance as Bhabha’s colleague.

Though each episode doesn’t always have sufficient material to keep one glued to the screen, the eventful lives of the men dedicated to India’s nuclear and space research programme keep viewers invested. 

Rocket Boys 2 is essentially a positive story about India’s scientific evolution, leading up to the sheer determination of Kalam. It’s a definite watch for anyone who seeks entertainment with a meaningful story. 

Rating: 4/5

(Disclaimer: The copy was updated to fix a typo.)