Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year

With a funny sounding name and Ranbir Kapoor as a lead character, I assumed that this might be one of the popcorn movies that target the college going demographics, who want a "time pass" movie. But boy I was wrong.

This movie is not a typical Bollywood movie. There are no spoilt rich college kids, characters do not hangout at McDonalds or other "hip" joints, no designer clothes, no gaudy weddings and "balle balle" dances, characters do not break into a song every 5 minutes. There are no "Rahuls" and "Priyas" and "Poojas".

The movie deals with the issue of business ethics - especially ethics in sales and its importance in customer relations. The hero - who is almost a failure in studies, but has very high moral standards, tries to fight and survive in the dog-eat dog world of selling assembled computers.

The story line is taut, focused and do not deviate from the main theme, the direction is excellent. In directorial terms, Rocket Singh is far ahead of Chak De India. I think that has more to do with storyline.

The only weak point is an unnecessary love angle - the director could have complete avoided that character. Also, the storyline could have avoided a predictable mushy ending

Also, why does characters have to swear so much - "s**t" word is careless tossed around in the movie, while the female characters uses the word "a@@&**e". Is swearing in English considered to be "hip and cool" while criticising Vishal Bhardwaj for using Hindi swear words in "Omkara"?

But the real show stealer is Ranbir Kapoor. He breathes life into the role of computer salesman. He gets into the skin of character, he is not afraid playing a role of loser and does not look uncomfortable speaking Hindi or Punjabi. I hope he gets a nomination for this role.

9/10 - 8 would have been fine, but 9 because it is a Yash Chopra production and still avoid all the clichés of Yashraj banners.

This film is truly ahead of its time, i just watched this film and it's hard to believe that this film released in 2009. At a time where bollywood movies were still typical hero heroine and villian(infact most of them still pretty much are), this movie was different and innovative from the rest of the industry. Moreover the message that this movie gives "having ethical business practices, valuing and understanding the customers and their needs is what helps a business to ultimately grow and be succesful instead of deceiting and conning them" is something people have realised quite recently(atleast here in India) and so companies and businesses have quite recently started taking ethics and customer satisfaction more seriously, so yeah this movie is quite ahead of its time. It's sad to see such amazing bollywood movies being underrated and hardly known.

Wow. What an unexpected surprise! Fresh out of the box... Rocket Singh looks you in the eye with an innocent yet promising look - as if it were saying, "I'm sweet, amn't I?" And you have no choice but to agree.

It's full of everything - subtle, clean, sensible, humane, but, above all, GENUINE humour; witty dialogues that make you smile; a good flow; touching moments; moments that make you smile... and what else do you want? Oh, yes, ladies and gentlemen, Rocket Singh - Salesman of the Year is worth every penny you spend on it. It starts with a humorous yet touching scene, where our very own Harpreet (Ranbir Kapoor) finds out that he's passed his MBA - with 39%. You expect him to cry, be frightened, sweat... but no. He smiles, and thanks Wahe Guru. And then he says, "Number kam hai, dimaag nahin." Rocket Singh is that boat-ride that makes you want more and more of it. This year has been full of disappointments for the industry, starting with the strike, moving on to some drastic releases... but here we are! One of those gems that bollywood has produced this year... after Dev.D, Kaminey, Paa... Rocket Singh.

It has a soothing soundtrack and some amazing moments, and it once again reminds us why Sardars are some of the most amazing people on this earth. The biggest disappointment to me was that the first day first show hall here, in Punjab, was only 1/5th full. What could be more disastrous? We have people rushing to see an SRK or an Aamir Khan production, but why are the seats empty in better movies like Paa, Kaminey, and now Rocket Singh? Why don't we have to FIGHT for the ticket? I give it a well-deserved 8/10, and I'm cutting off 2 merely because it ended.

And yes, people. Go watch it.

I promise you'll smile.

Frankly speaking, "Rocket Singh" is not the usual bollywood kind of movie with the same ages old ingredients of action, love & comedy. It may not be appreciated by the masses, but for a change it's a simple and refreshing flick with everything just in the right proportions as required. The movie neither has any sick side stories yelling loudly to impress the viewers nor there are any silly unwanted songs jumping into the screenplay from nowhere. In other words it's a great piece of art made by a thinking team strictly on the lines of innovative Hollywood projects which are based on variety of subjects written around our daily routine life.

The story talks about a fresh and honest graduate who is looking for a descent job to make his future career. The wickedness of his colleagues and seniors in the office helps him transform into a clever and strategic businessman. But in the process he also has to opt for some unethical means and uses his present job office and resources for his personal benefit. The innovative plot not only enlightens us about the cut throat competition in the Sales line but it also showcases the hardships faced by the innocent customers due to the evil practices adopted by the service providers. The film commences slowly and starts growing on the viewer with its to the point narrative and highly realistic sequences. In fact most of the viewers will find it very easy to relate with various characters in the script portrayed just like the real life people we meet every day.

After his masterpiece "Chakk De India", Shimit returns with another brilliant work which again has a huge contribution coming from his writer Jaideep Sahni. Shimit's subtle treatment of the subject never slides down and he maintains a firm grip on the movie right till its impressive climax. Interestingly, all the incidents in the movie strongly point towards some similar personal experiences of either Shimit or Jaideep in the past. Jaideep splendidly comes up with the most original description of his characters quite close to his "Khosla Ka Ghosla" which also revolved around Delhi and its Punjabi culture. Actually the whole setup of a computer company and its premises in "Rocket Singh" is more relevant to New Delhi's computer hub, Nehru Place (which Jaideep must have seen) and everyone who has visited the premises would readily agree to that. Taking into account all their works together in the past, the writer-director duo is a great team in formation and you can easily expect many more brilliant projects coming from them in the near future.

In the performance arena there are good things to write about almost everyone in the cast. With the most authentic Sikh character's portrayal on the screen till date, Ranbir Kapoor once again excels and makes everyone in the Kapoor family feel proud of their young energetic and hardworking kid. His choice of projects after the unexpected debacle of "Saawariya" clearly proves his gifted cinematic sense and intuition power. While watching him on screen, not even once you feel that he is in a fictional get up of a Sikh. In simple words he just slips into the body of Harpreet Singh Bedi and delivers an effortless, enjoyable and the most impressive performance of his career.

Prem Chopra delivers a lovable cameo. Gauhar Khan impresses in her role of a receptionist and she surely has got the oomph factor to burn the screen. Shazahn Padamsee is fresh and confident as Ranbir's customer cum friend. Everyone else in the team lead by Rocket Singh is perfectly chosen and they skillfully act as true to life realistic characters, especially the computer engineer and his sexy desktops glowing in the night. Cinematography is nothing exceptional and Salim-Sulaiman music is just above average with all the songs used shortly along with the background score.

However, the only probable mistake, the marketing team of "Rocket Singh" has made is that they wrongly promoted the film as a comedy. The promos with Ranbir dancing to the tune of "Pocket Mein Rocket Hai" clearly give you an idea of the movie being a funny take on office politics and life of an salesman. Whereas in reality it's a sensible story of a fresh graduate who goes on to make a confident mark in his very first job of a salesman. Though it has many comedy sequences coming in at regular interval throughout, but still that doesn't allow anybody to simply call it a comedy movie. In fact all the viewers coming in for seeing just another routine, over the top, bollywood comedy may get highly disappointed from the end result they get. So, once again it's an example of wrong promotion tried by the makers to bring in some more crowds in the opening weekend.

But if you ask me then just don't take it as a comedy and go for it if you really want to see a fresh, cool and uplifting movie completely different from what we have been seeing in all this year. In short, "Rocket Singh" is one of those few rare movies which are made without thinking of any favorable box office results. If majority of the viewers like it then that's a good sign of progress being made in the Indian Cinema. But if most of them take it otherwise then that will be the most unfortunate outcome of 2009.

Highly recommended for everyone yearning for a change in Bollywood's choice of subjects.

As I came out of the theatre, a lady was telling to her husband, in one of the most innocent tones possible in Mumbaiyya Hindi, which roughly meant: "I did not get what they were talking throughout the film". It did not surprise me at all. During the interval, my brother had called me. He was in the interval too, coincidentally. We talked for 10-15 seconds. And in that short period, we mutually agreed: it is a difficult film.

What do you expect from the director of 'Ab Tak Chhappan' and the writer of 'Company' and 'Khosla Ka Ghosla'? What do you expect from the next project by this duo, after the hugely successful 'Chak De India'? The problem is, whatever you expect gets hugely affected by the promotion of the current film, and the filmography of these talented people remains nothing more than factual details in the minds of people who care.

This problem, promotion, or selling itself, is the biggest error committed by a film that, ironically, comes with a tag line: "Salesman of the Year." And this could be fatal for the film. It has been promoted as the story of a protagonist who appears to be funny enough to entertain. Sadly, the film is not a comedy. So, if you want a laugh-riot that can make your weekend, it is not the correct film for you. It is a difficult film. And not all difficult films are masterpieces! Rocket Singh is far from that. It is not even the story of this young Sardar. The protagonist of the movie is 'Rocket Singh' which does not exist in person, but as an idea. That idea is the theme, the story and the protagonist of the film. That idea is the message.

But this film manages to achieve something that is rare in this industry madly following a 'formula' that does not exist. This film takes some daring steps. It tries to bridge the gap between the actual changes Indian society has been going through and the stagnancy that has plagued the commercial cinema of this country. The traditional villain has been replaced by the corporate set-up. The point of confrontation is not modesty of a woman or the love-interest of the hero. Here the humiliation is not physical. It is verbal and mental. And it hurts you as much as it has always done. And you want revenge. But even the revenge is not relying on adrenaline, but on planning and making smart moves, and taking calculated risks. There is no comedian. The life itself is a big, dark comedy. And the hero is not a tough guy protecting the poor, but a middle-class man who is running as a salesman in spite of having a place to live, food to eat, and friends to party with. But this is what the life of today has become. And this film tries to explore that reality. The reality that does not have strong, emotional points of conflict, but which is a continuous, never-ending struggle.

In its attempt, it has become a difficult film. During the interval I was thinking: is this subject powerful enough to be made into a feature film? The second half picks up and there are some genuinely funny moments. And a convincing Ranbir Kapoor tries his best to keep you emotionally connected, as does most of the support cast. But in the end, Rocket Singh remains an honest and gutsy 'salesman' that did many things right, but failed while trying to sell itself. If you can ignore this mistake and appreciate the attempt, you might like it. An actor who makes her debut with this film has said that it does not belong to any genre, and this is what will work for the film. I almost agree with the first part of the statement. But will it work? If it is successful, I would be pleasantly surprised, but it is unlikely. As for me, well, I liked it, almost.