What started with an introspective visit to Mrinalini Sarabhai’s dance academy in Ahmedabad, culminated in a feeling of oneness with the legend for Regina Cassandra, who plays the role of the iconic danseuse in SonyLIV’s upcoming series Rocket Boys. While the series primarily tells the story of India’s successful space and nuclear programmes helmed by legendary physicists Dr Vikram Sarabhai and Dr. Homi J. Bhabha, it also highlights the role played by Mrinalini Sarabhai in enriching her husband, Dr Sarabhai’s personal life.
Cassandra, who has charmed the OTT space with her gracious performance as Mrinalini Sarabhai, spoke about the emotional link she could establish with the late danseuse during her visit to Darpana, Mrinalini Sarabhai’s academy in Ahmedabad. The spiritual resonance that she felt while at the academy not only brought tears to her eyes, but helped her become one with the legendary woman who was an independent force to reckon with during the pre and post Independence years. Not only did Cassandra discover her likes and dislikes, but imbibed as much as she could to do justice to her magnanimous grandeur.
“I was hellbent on going to Darpana to see and experience the legacy that Mrinalini Sarabhai left behind. I had tears in my eyes because I really felt her presence there. It was as if she blessed me there. I could feel her legacy still shining through Darpana, which her daughter Mallika has taken forward admirably. I got to see one of the performances and afterwards, they organized a pooja, which reminded me of the importance of that place,” she said.
So deeply was Cassandra immersed in who Mrinalini Sarabhai was, that she spent the lockdown practicing Bharatnatyam, trying to get closer to the danseuse spiritually. She took on the major tenets in her look to distinguish the iconic Sarabhai. Uma, the stylist, has been doing a fantastic job. She too visited Darpana and sat with Mallika to understand her mother’s likes and dislikes. The idea was not just to portray how she looks, but also to understand who she was as a person. We discovered what kind of jewelry she liked, and that she wore a lot of green. So, my look incorporated a lot of green too,” she said.
Rocket Boys features the lives of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and Dr. Homi J. Bhabha as the two great physicists turned their dreams into reality and made great scientific discoveries, that put India on the world map. The show also stars Jim Sarbh, Ishwak Singh, Rajat Kapur, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Saba Azad, and Arjun Radhakrishnan. Created by Nikkhil Advani, Roy Kapur Films & Emmay Entertainment, Rocket Boys is directed by Abhay Pannu and produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur, Monisha Advani, Madhu Bhojwani, and Nikkhil Advani.
