Jim Sarbh And Ishwak Singh On Rocket Boys And Playing Real-Life Geniuses

SonyLIV's upcoming series Rocket Boys, based on the lives and friendship of Dr. Homi J. Bhabha and Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, is generating increasing – and widespread – curiosity among viewers. The show's trailer, starring Jim Sarbh and Ishwak Singh, has in fact clocked 25 million views within 12 days of its launch. Ahead of its digital release on February 4, the lead actors talk about shouldering the show, getting into the skin of their characters and the experience of working with each other.

Edited excerpts:

Sneha Menon Desai: For two actors who have really proven themselves with role after role, what does it feel like to find yourself in every frame of the trailer?

Jim Sarbh: It's a good feeling. It's a show about these two guys and their friendship through the years, so I imagine if the trailer didn't have the two of us, it would have been stranger (laughs).

SMD: I'm coming more from a place where you've probably had to look for yourself in a trailer to it's all about you.

Ishwak Singh: You just said it. And it has happened. I've wondered if I'm there or whether you can see a glimpse of me even passing by in a certain trailer. But I always saw it as a part of the process. This certainly feels great.

SMD: What do you got to keep in mind when you're picking a biopic? Do you feel like you need to, at some place, see yourself as that person? Do you need to feel invested in their story? What's important for you?

Jim: In a way, a biopic is, at the end of the day, you playing a character one way or the other. If a film has been written really well and the character has been well-researched and represented, I imagine it would be a similar experience to play a fictional character with as much weight. But it [playing a character based on someone real] is both easier and more difficult. The easier aspect of it is that there are real references you can look at, there's research you can read about, there are people you can talk to who can share anecdotes about how the person is. But at the end of the day, none of it matters because you're trying to represent somebody, who by all accounts, is a genius. Of course, I'm not him and can never be him, there's no question about it. But I can try my best to authentically represent or touch some part of his genius in the portrayal.

SMD: What about you, Ishwak? Do you have to see yourself in the character?

Ishwak: Yes, you've got to do it authentically. Once you get caught or put yourself in this grind, then there's no escaping it. Then, you're just there – you're finding more. It's like a revelation after revelation, and as I'm doing this, I'm understanding what that relationship is like between him [Vikram Sarabhai] and Homi Bhabha. We are all similar in so many ways, and ultimately, it's a human story.

SMD: I'm curious to know about the both of you on-set. Jim, you've said that you have very opposite acting styles and I'm sure that can be very exciting as collaborators but did it ever happen that the other just threw you off when you were expecting them to go one way and they went another way altogether?

Jim: It plays out in fun ways. The fact is that the two characters have opposing ideologies. So, it was never an issue. In fact, it only helped. Sometimes, the characters were spiky with each other, and sometimes, they were supposed to really get along and have a good laugh. They constantly like challenged and informed each other's behavior. So, any opposing ideology that we had as actors only helped.

Ishwak: At the heart of it, our intention is to get through to the other side and we want to make a good show, tell a good story and tell it honestly. I believe in his [Sarbh's] craft. I think he has an authentic voice, which is great. He is an asset to our industry. While you may sense different energies but the heart of it is to go out there and put out an honest performance. How we get there is different, which is exactly what Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai were doing, right Jim? They wanted to get to the same point but it's just that their trajectories were different.

SMD: What do you envy about each other as actors?

Jim: I envy his command of the Hindi language and his earnestness.

Ishwak: Sometimes, he comes up with an idea or an approach towards a scene that I have never thought of. And that's great. He believes in being in the moment. You need a solid understanding of the language, the craft, story and character to just go out there and be in the moment because you can make a total fool out of yourself [if it doesn't come naturally].