Ishwak Singh: The story of Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai is so inspiring

Actor Ishwak Singh reprises his role as scientist Vikram Sarabhai in 'Rocket Boys 2', streaming on SonyLIV from March 16, 2023. (Image source: Screenshot/SonyLIV)

After a successful first season, the rocket men are back for the next chapter of Rocket Boys. The SonyLiv series, directed by Abhay Pannu, stars Jim Sarbh, Ishwak Singh and Arjun Radhakrishnan as the scientists at the forefront of India’s space programme. The first season followed Bhabha and Sarabhai as they navigated a post-Independence changing India. Along with C.V. Raman and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, they spearheaded India’s nuclear and space programmes.

Sarbh, Singh and Radhakrishnan spoke about the process of performing these larger-than-life men and what one can expect from season two (streaming from March 16, 2023) of this biopic. Excerpts:

What can we expect in season two of ‘Rocket Boys’?

Jim: There is a promise in season one, and that promise is achieved. Sarabhai and Bhabha do become older. We worked on that and hope it translates. We tried to think about how friends are after years of the same jokes and the same arguments. How they respond to challenges. Things become more blunted and manageable and don’t sting as badly but there are still things that sting or surprise you.

Ishwak: A big part of who these men were was a belief in a certain kind of a virtue, which is interdependence and passing on the mantle. So for them, it wasn't a solitary pursuit. It was a pursuit to lay the foundations of modern India, to advance science and use science to benefit people and our society. A huge part was preparing the next generation to take the mantle forward. When you see a character like Kalam coming to the foreground, it is a reflection of that idea.

Arjun: My part is definitely bigger now. You see the trajectory of the lives of these men as they grow older. Although Kalam was in his late 30s in this period, I think he was more a witness to what was happening, working with Dr Sarabhai and working on the mission, as one of the junior scientists.

The response to the first season was very good. What do you think is the appeal of the show?

Jim Sarbh: I think it’s the fact that we are humanizing otherwise great figures. We were not afraid to make the show entertaining and show different facets of the men, instead of just whitewashing them and being burdened by this idea that you have to play great figures. I think it is a very interesting story about these two men and their friendship which has an odd couple kind of bite to it, where one is more a mercurial, brash character and the other is more thoughtful and reflecting, which rubs off on to each other. But mostly it is good writing and a very good story.

Ishwak Singh: Many factors, I think. I would say it is filmmaking craft, writing, authenticity, honesty, how well researched it is, how it resonates, how human the story is, and also the theme. The story of Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai, the architects of modern India, who laid the foundation of Indian science institutions, is so inspiring. It's a service to the entire scientific community and homage to the fathers of Indian science. It's a great thought.

Arjun Radhakrishnan: I think it connected because it’s a show about science and how we set up our institutions. We don’t talk much about these subjects and there aren’t many references in the media about how politics and scientists came together to affect changes we are feeling even today. Also the novelty of this phase of Indian history which has not really been shown. In a series there are more details, more to chew on. To make a thrilling show about scientists is an achievement.

Ishwak, in terms of your performance, how much could you adapt or bring in your own nuances while playing a real life character like Dr Sarabhai?

It’s not a didactic experience. It's not like you know, you've been given a history textbook and you've gone through the notes and you're kind of repeating or replicating that. In that sense it was a clean slate because even if I mark out the key events of any historical leader, you try and imagine what a day in his life would have been like at a certain age, and then how it changed. It requires an understanding of those institutions, those times, the scenario of what was going on, what was the air like, the demeanour. So in that way you are pretty much starting from ground zero. It’s not restrictive in any way. Also, for me, success for Homi is a success for me and Vikram's success is Homi's success. I see the characters as inseparable.

Jim Sarbh as Homi Bhabha in 'Rocket Boys 2'. (Image: Screen shot/SonyLIV)

Jim, you said, one character could be mercurial and the other could be more reflective. So can you share how you interpreted Homi Bhabha?

Jim: This slight dichotomy between the two was already on paper. There was not that much information about him out there, but there was enough. If you talk to people from an older generation who knew him or knew people who knew him, they would say that there was an ambition, there was an ego and there was a desire to be a perfectionist. He was not just interested in science. He also designed the entire layout of the campus at TIFR, including which plants he wanted where. He had a kind of desire to get as close to perfect. Every time I have to do these interviews I start thinking about what an incredible guy he was and his depth of interests was so varied. Also sometimes people just don't take themselves too seriously and the ones that are really good at what they do particularly don't take themselves so seriously. So we thought about how it is not a jot on your intelligence if you can laugh at yourself or at others around you or even appear to not be the most knowledgeable person in the room, even though everyone knows you are. Characters appear to be mouthpieces for the writer and move the story along with exposition. So Abhay and I had lots of discussion and rehearsal keeping in mind that Bhabha was actually smarter than the both of us, so if I, as Jim, know what he means then Bhabha surely knows. So how do we take his response a few steps further than that? At times we struggled with this solution for days.

Once you have the blueprint for the character in your hand, what aspects do you then work on?

Ishwak: Sometimes, based on the theme, I get a sense of how I want to map it and how I want to build a foundation to understand the person, his demeanour, what he is and what he represents. Sometimes I may feel that I need to read up on science or if it is a cop universe, I know that reading is not enough and I need to go there and work a day or as a human rights lawyer and activist I probably need to go down to the grassroots. Biotech certainly required a lot more reading and a lot more understanding of the time, context and the intentions of these men. You get that sense from the theme, by reading the script, by talking to your director, the makers, and then you make choices, you make edits. But by the time you get to the set, the humongous effort that you put in might just have to be thrown out of the window because something else takes over. So you have to be a bit fluid too. It’s good experience.

Arjun: I read the script many times, over a period of time. I used to do theatre before and I think it comes from there, where you spend a lot of time with the script. I try to find references to scenes and emotions from their real lives. I read and imbibe as much as I can and work on the walk, body language, accent, etc. I read his (Dr Kalam's) autobiography and read what people had to say about him. Hopefully it translates.