Rocket Singh: Salesman of The Year (2009)

What is it about idealism that is so attractive? While a shirtless Salman leaves me completely unmoved*, a self-less social worker or an idealistic writer makes me melt with the “milk of human kindness”. Put that idealism into an underdog, and you have a sure-fire hit, as far as OiG is concerned! And that is exactly what Shimit Amin-Jaideep Sahani do in Rocket Singh. They create an everyman hero who is helplessly idealistic and a complete babe-in-the-woods for the milieu he chooses. The result is fairly predictable, but so very heart-warming!

Harpreet Singh Bedi (Ranbir Kapoor) or ‘HP’ as his friends call him, is an average Joe. He barely scrapes through his BCom finals (he does seem to be better than Sid, at exams!) and doesnt dare sit for the CAT (entrance exam for MBA in India), because he knows his intellectual limitations. So, he sets his sights on a job in sales because there, “brains are more useful than numbers”.

Inspector (1956) – a thrilling family drama!

It was the lovely song – Dil chhed koi aisa nagma – on youtube, that put me on track of this film. Geeta Bali singing of heartbreak and Ashok Kumar looking guilty as charged of said heartbreak? I HAD to see the film! Fortunately for me, friend Shalini was able to send me this hard-to-find film. Experience has taught me not to have very high expectations when watching a film on the strength of one song and its star cast. So, I began with modest expectations and the first 20 min of the film did not look too promising. But just when I settled in to watch a family drama complete with predictably misplaced children and sad families, the film took a masala-noirish turn and soon developed into one of the most enjoyable films I’ve seen for a while!

My New Year resolutions

I am not usually inclined to make resolutions, but always make an exception for New Year’s day. Its a day that comes around only once a year and one must do something to make it special. So, while I sipped my Tequila Sour and tried to tune out the loud Spanish music in the restaurant, I resolved to do certain things this year:

1. Sing at least one Rafi and one Asha Bhosle song per day, even though my neighbours complain of noise pollution and the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Golden Oldies bays for my blood.

2. Include more bell-bottoms, loud prints and big-sunglasses in my wardrobe (I already did that, but then Govinda stole my wardrobe. So now, I have to start all over again!).