Rocket Singh: Zip, zap, zoom

 Shimit Amin returns with his latest offering after ‘Chak De India’, and expectations skyrocket! Sorry, had to get that one out.

Harpreet Singh Bedi, a fresh graduate, has barely survived college, while getting just enough marks to pass muster. Unable to get a well-paying job elsewhere, he decides to go into sales and joins AYS computers as a sales trainee. On his first day on the job, he refuses a bribe and reports the client. Unfortunately, this ends up making him the ridicule of the office staff for his naiveté. Stung by this criticism, Harpreet proceeds to set up his own firm - Rocket Sales, right under his boss’ nose. He gets 3-4 people from the office to join him on this venture, and together they set out to take on AYS in the field.

The story is a simple one, and it has been effectively brought alive by the lifelike characters and dialogues. The screenplay is brilliant through most of the movie, though the final 20 minutes play out a little strangely.

Shimit Amin has an eye for detail. Everything looks and feels like it does in real life, with people drinking from plastic cups in office parties, to no one wearing designer clothes, and Ranbir’s mentor telling him methods to keep the shirt clean. Amin extracts great performances from his ensemble cast as well. My only grouse is that the flick could have been around 15-20 minutes shorter. That would have kept the effort crisper.

Ranbir Kapoor as Harpreet is great. As refreshing it is to finally see a Sardar in a non-comic lead role, it is because of Ranbir that the character becomes real. Even when he dances at the party, he doesn’t do anything hero-ish. He just dances like a normal guy would.
Naveen Kaushik as his mentor, who joins him at Rocket Sales, stands out. In fact, he overshadows Ranbir in many scenes! Manish Chaudhari as the unscrupulous boss Puri is brilliant, as is D. Santosh as the techie who surfs for bikini-clad women on the net. Prem Chopra as Ranbir’s granddad is a delight. Mukesh Bhatt as Chote Lal, Gauhar Khan as Koena and the many actors playing the sales team are effective. Shazahn Padamsee hardly has 3 scenes in the movie.

The songs in the movie are there only as part of the background score, and serve no purpose. The background score is good. The set design is brilliant. You truly get the feel of the constricted office space and the inside of a regular middle class home.

Final Verdict: The effective story-telling lifts this story, which could have been shorter by 15-20 minutes. I’ll give this rocket 3.5 out of 5.

'Ajab' Prem ki not so 'Ghazab' kahani

Given the hype and promotion surrounding the release of this movie, not to say anything about the rumors surrounding the lead pair; you would have to have been living in a cave for the past few weeks not to have heard about this one. So, what is this Kahani all about, and is it worth a watch?


Prem(Ranbir Kapoor), a simple small-town guy, runs a Happy Club in the town with his bunch of cronies. He stays happy and lives life to the fullest, uniting distressed lovers and getting scolded by his father and shielded by his mother, something seen in countless Hindi movies. Prem’s life turns topsy-turvy when Jenny (Katrina Kaif) comes to town and he falls for her immediately. As the two get acquainted with each other, a series of incidents follows, some humorous, others romantic. Just when Prem starts to think about settling down with Jenny, she tells him that her boyfriend (Upen Patel) is waiting for her. Heartbroken, he sets out to unite the two, as that is the right thing to do. There’s nothing too ‘ghajab’ about this kahani, honestly speaking.

The screenplay increases the quality of the product a little, embellishing it with dialogues and situations that sometimes make it hard for you to stifle a smile. Cases in point, the Saawariya spoof, the Katrina top incident and the ball dance.

Raj Kumar Santoshi attempts a new genre in Ajab Ghazab, the rom-com. People have harkened back to Andaz Apna Apna, but the two films are as different as chalk and cheese. While Andaz Apna Apna was a slapstick comedy that would have gone wrong in a less experienced director’s hands, this is a romance with parts of comedy that has been the main bread-earner of studios like Yash Raj. Santoshi slips into this mode effortlessly, and nowhere does it seem like this is his first attempt. The problem is, unlike the screenplay that did add to the movie, Santoshi’s direction does not add to it. He just plays out what he got like how he got.

Ranbir Kapoor is a class act. This is yet another movie where he performs brilliantly. He rises above the average story and actually makes it work. Be it the comedy scenes, the romantic scenes or the dances, he does it all with aplomb and charms the females in the audience while he’s at it. It’s fair to say then, that this movie would have failed without him. This Prem is surely ‘Ajab-Ghazab’.

Katrina Kaif has grown better as an actress with time. Watch her in APKGK, and compare it to her earlier works and you’ll see the difference. She may not be the finished article yet as far as acting goes, but she’s getting there. And she looks STUNNING! Sigh. The supporting cast, featuring Smita Jayakar and Darshan Zariwala as Prem’s parents, Govind Namdeo as Upen Patel’s father and Zakir Hussain as a madcap gangster, does a commendable job. Upen Patel expectedly disappoints, and you wonder if he was meant to.

Pritam delivers another hit soundtrack with APK… The songs fit well with the narrative and don’t jar on your ears. Main Tera Dhadkan Teri, Tera Hone Laga Hoon & my favorite, Tu Jaane Na are all chart-busters. The Salim-Suleiman duo does a decent job with the background score. Goofy and romantic sounds expectedly fill the background for most of the duration of the movie.

The cinematographer does a good job of showing us the small-town. After all, there are only so many ways you can portray the same city on celluloid. The editing is good and consistent, save for one occasion when Katrina is suddenly shown to have been kidnapped. To be fair to the filmmaker though, it could have been deliberate. The visual effects, though present for only a short duration, are good.

Final Verdict: Despite claiming to be a ‘Ghazab’ kahani, APKGK is a run-of-the mill rom-com that only rises above the regular product courtesy of the great performances and taut direction. The end result: it’s a one-time watch for the excellent performances. Did I mention Katrina looks stunning? Sigh! 3 out of 5.