Heart-warmer Of The Year

Rating: – * * * * ½

It’s a harsh truth that Bollywood, these days, is ruled by market forces where money is the name of the game. Films are showered with lots of so-called entertaining factors just to attract (or even fool) the masses in order to earn as much revenue as possible in the first three days.

In the midst of such a situation, it takes more than guts not to bow down to the bazaar demands make something right from your heart. Well, Shimit Amin’s Rocket Singh – Salesman Of The Year does the gutsy act and does it victoriously.

Rocket Singh is one of those flicks which reinforces your belief in the three assets called hope, hard work and honesty, which is almost non-existent in today’s movies. Harpreet Singh Bedi aka Rocket Singh (Ranbir Kapoor) has these assets in abundance instead of good marks to show off. He is one contended guy who has no interest in being in the ‘big’ profession of a doctor, engineer, MBA, etc. But little did he know that his assets will turn out to be the reason for his downfall. Despite this, Harpreet decides to fight back.

The presentation of this simple tale is equally simple. For this, Jaideep Sahni deserves tons of accolades for writing a heartwarming story, churning out some out-of-the-ordinary scenes in his screenplay and creating witty, funny as well as heart touching dialogues. In addition, Sahni’s honesty to the subject can be seen from the fact that he has refrained from giving undue importance to the romantic track or other such masala factors.

Add to this director Shimit Amin’s creativity, which can be seen in almost every scene. It’s because of his brilliance that the film turns out to be one of the most entertaining in recent times. In fact, Amin’s effort is at par with his last worshipped flick Chake De! India.

Playing the main lead in such a film is crucial and requires extraordinary talent and Ranbir Kapoor, with this performance, shows that he possesses extraordinary factor. The actor’s presence is enough to keep one glued to the screen as he expresses each emotion with ease.

Amongst the supporting cast, Gauhar Khan, Shazahn Padamsee, Prem Chopra and the actor who played the peon all perform their task perfectly. However, it’s D Santosh (the porn-watching IT guy Giri), the actor who played sales manager and the one who played Ranvir’s boss Puri who manage to surprise everyone with flawless and up to the mark performances, especially D Santosh.

Technical departments don’t disappoint too as Salim-Sulaiman’s amusing background score and Vikas Nowlakha’s apt cinematography suit the subject well. There’s isn’t much scope for Salim-Sulaiman’s music but the song Nikal Padi goes well with the post-interval situation apart from the hit promotional track Pocket Mein Rocket.

Considering everything, Rocket Singh – Salesman Of The Year is a rare gem which succeeds in bringing the spotlight back on honest, meaningful and non-masala cinema. Damn the average opening; the film’s makers and contributors have every reason to be proud.