The name may sound erroneous or out of the place in the first place, but ROCKET BOYS on SonyLIV is indeed one of the finest series that has come on the OTT platforms in recent times.
Nikhil Advani has done a yeomen’s service in unraveling before the present generation the monumental ways in which the foundation of a vibrant scientific temperament fired by dogged commitment of the duo of Homi Jehangir Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai paving the path for India to emerge as the powerhouse in space and atomic research.
The success of ROCKET BOYS underlines also the fact that content of such kind, which is consigned to the dusty annals of the history, needs to be dusted and brought out for the Indians all over the world so that they can have goosebumps of pride whenever and wherever they view this show.
Obviously, the flawless flow of the content across episodes underlines the fact how much effort has been undertaken to bring into light the scientific progress country has achieved. ROCKET BOYS as a title indeed is quite apt, as Jim Sarbh and Ishwak Singh have enacted the heady combination of Bhabha and Sarabhai, with panache. For both actors, ROCKET BOYS is their moment of reckoning. While Vikram Sarabhai as a character is etched in the conscience of the nation, the character of Bhabha has been given a new lease of life by Jim Sarbh and he has given a sense of new respect for Bhabha as one of the main characters in our Nation building.
It is only through ROCKET BOYS that one becomes aware with pride about the maverick talent of arguably one of our brilliant scientists and the missile man and former President A P J Abdul Kalam! In fact, the whole process of shooting of first rocket in the space underlines the JUGAAD premise that India thrives on and makes a success out of it.
ROCKET BOYS also underlines the strong bond of friendship that both these brilliant minds had and how they completed each other during the moments of crisis, that each of one of them faced during the nation building process. The politics in research, which can make or break nations, is also presented in a subtle manner with conviction.
After portrayal of the character of Homi Jehangir Bhabha, may be the world of entertainment would start viewing character of Parsis with certain respect and not the caricatured manner, as has been the pattern per se.
One always wonders what trajectory our country would have followed if Homi Jehangir Bhabha would not have been killed in the air crash. The idea is being propositioned as his partner in arms- Vikram Sarabhai, who otherwise generally is perceived to be the man who pioneered the Space Programme of the country for all encompassing development, was also the person who revolutionized the Indian textile industry and made Ahmedabad a hub of textiles at the world level. Vikram Sarabhai was also the man who was responsible for setting up the first IIM of the country at Ahmedabad.
For the second season of ROCKET BOYS, it would be interesting to watch how the character of Mrinalini Sarabhai evolves as in the first season she has not got her share of limelight. ROCKET BOYS has zoomed the Indian scientific prowess through the platform of OTT into a new orbit, still there are quite of lot of more such unsung heroes and heroines consigned into the dusty annals of history who are awaiting the likes of Nikhil Advani to tell the Indian citizens all over, why India is a formidable intellectual power!