Rocket Boys

Acting: acting done by each actor in this series is exceptional.

Storyline: Best part about the storyline is they tried to connect the puzzle the best way possible it starts with a rivalry between Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai including the characters like CV Raman, JRD Tata and APJ Abdul Kalam. Even though it looks like a rivalry but in this series you will see how both of them tried to build a strong foundation for India in either building space rockets or be it building Atom bombs.

I am very sure during the end of this series you will be left with patriotic feeling in your heart. #BharatMataKiJai.

"Often the best minds tend to lose objectivity in their pursuit of excellence." We often glorify our freedom fighters, our armed personnel, historical monarchs. We are literally obsessed with our sports stars, our movie stars. We talk about our politicians, leaders. And there are lots of movies and web series on them. But, when it comes to "the best minds" who have pioneered our country's development in the field of science, our film industries really lack on-screen portrayals. However, thanks to the rising dominance of the OTT platforms that we've now found at least one.

"Rocket Boys" on Sony Liv is not only a mere historical period-drama with a high proportion of knowledge and enriched with content but also is a fitting tribute to some of the ignited minds of our beautiful country like CV Raman, Homi Jehangir Bhabha, Vikram Sarabhai, Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, and last but not the least APJ Abdul Kalam who gave their whole lives to our nation-building through their sole favourite field of science. The day I've watched the trailer, I've decided to have a go at this series. And after finishing all 8 episodes, I can say that it didn't disappoint me. The story focuses on the lives of mainly Dr. Homi J. Bhabha and Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and their efforts to strengthen India's first Nuclear Programme and India's first space programme. Expectedly, there are many moments of goosebumps and some "tears of joy" moments as well. Especially, the hosting of the flag at the climax of the 1st episode, the first entry of the teenage APJ Abdul Kalam at the end of the 4th episode, and the speech of Dr. Sarabhai at his cotton mill in Ahmedabad were enough to get that extra emotional spark in my mind and body as a proud Indian. And that moment where Dr. Bhabha had finally launched India's first nuclear reactor 'Apsara' was no less than a moment of high adrenaline rush. The moment of launching India's first rocket and the satisfying faces of Dr. Sarabhai, Dr. Kalam, and Dr. Bhabha made my eyes moist in pride and joy as a countryman. Yes...There was a bit of melodrama. But it was necessary and certainly not stretched at all. Because it is not only about science but also about the friendship, romance, commitment, and overall lives of both of them.

Coming to the technicalities, I can say that "Kal Ho Naa Ho" and "D-Day" famed director Nikkhil Advani gave his best so far. He has found a team that really worked hard in research to make the script with so much information and almost negligible error. Dibyendu Bhattacharya as Raza Mehdi, Arjun Radhakrishnan as Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam did great. Ishwak Singh sparked and literally looked perfect as Dr. Vikram Sarabhai. Rajit Kapoor was not only looking, rather sounding like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru with unique voice modulation. Other actors and actresses were just fitting to their roles.

There should be a special paragraph for Jim Sarbh whenever anyone would discuss this series. I think he has immortalized the "Father of India's Nuclear Programme" on-screen forever. Jim sparked in every cameo and supporting role before but now he has delivered his best shot so far in a leading role as Dr. Bhabha. He was just outstanding and surely the heart of the show.

Editing could've been slightly better but that's alright. The background score and the cinematography were very appealing to the audience.

Overall, it is a fantastic experience not just as an Indian or a cinema/series fanatic, or a science admirer or a history lover but as a combined of all. Kudos to the entire cast and crew members of the series. Along with the Indian series like "Scam 1992", "The Family Man", "Panchayat" etc., it will be right up there at the top branch for sure with a "MUST WATCH" tag!

❤🙏😊

Boy o boy...What a brilliant piece of art this series is!!!! A true homage to the Indian legends who selflessly shaped our country's bright future for what it is today. Due credit to the writers for making this 'know your heroes' series most entertaining to watch. Fantastic performance from all the actors involved including the phenomenal acting by Jim Sarbh in leading role, it would be unfair for other actors to say that he stole every scene that he was in but Damn he NAILED IT!!

The dialogues had wits where needed with engaging story and direction was top notch by Abhay Pannu. Cinematography was also good.

More like this one Please?

An enriching tale of 2 great men on whose shoulders our country's technology sector is standing. If you ever wanted to look back into history and understand how a country which was stripped down, starved and exploited in every possible way for 200 years was able to stand again, have its own space program and a nuclear weapon - watch this show to understand how it all started. The sacrifices made by them is bearing fruits now. The actors are as good as they come. Direction is top class. The only lag are episode 2 and 3 where the romantic track take the seat. Do yourself a favour and watch it. We rarely make such piece of art.

This series is going to be a treat for those who love science or have been following india's developement in the field of science. You know very well what this series or rather, whom this series is based upon so let me jump to the positive points:-

1. Good detailing. The makers have done a pretty good amount of research for this series. There would be many terms or even organizations that todays gen may not be aware of like ATIRA or ISCOPAR etc and will force you to keenly google them up.

2. The performance by Jim Sarbh and Ishwak singh is top class. Many might question why Ishwak singh's Vikram doesnt age at all with time . The fact is Sarabhai really looked young even at later stages of his life. Jim Sarbh as Homi Bhaba is one step further. His charm and subtle humor that his character possesses is a treat to watch.

3. Brings out the feelings of Patriotism without patriotic dialogues or hyper-nationalism. Just their efforts into making a rocket or even the atomic research center is shown so well that when they finally achieve success, it automatically brings the sense of pride for your country in your heart.

4. Addition of 35 mm reels from the 1950s is another masterstroke. Good detailing has also gone into the sets making sure we are aware in which time we are.

5. A bit of dramatization has been done and i accept it. We see evil men going behind Homi trying to bring him down all these things may not be real and are commercialized (or who knows if it was real) but i honestly had no complains as it made the series more interesting to watch.

However, there are some negatives:-

1. It is ok to show the personal lives of the two scientists but for literally 5 episodes? Their love lives are given meaty screen space and that dissapointed me as the series could have focussed more on science rather than love. The love angle could have been chopped off a bit.

2. An illogical scene where Homi literally dives into a swimming pool reactor only to emerge absolutely dry.

3. The fact that towards the end , they didnt really focus on how Sarabhai made the rocket rather they focus more on Homi.

Overall , a must watch series. Definitely not for "Pushpa" audience so choose wisely and you wont be dissapointed. One thing you will realize that Homi was more like a "Netaji Shubash" while Sarabhai had more of a "Mahatma Gandhi" kind of mindet.