American critics give flattering reviews to 'Rocket Singh'

Bollywood's latest offering "Rocket Singh - Salesman Of The Year" is going great guns in the US with its review currently the number one most read movie story on the New York Times site.

The Times review, beating stories on the Golden Globe nominations and reviews of all US films, calls "Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year," with Ranbir Kapoor " a smart, focused Bollywood movie".

Shimit Amin, "who directed the delightful 'Chak De! India', about a girls' hockey team, dispenses with Bollywood's normal tangle of subplots and mashup of genres", it says. "There's music, but no big production numbers. Even romance is back-burnered. Instead, Mr. Amin sticks to the story at hand."

"Kapoor, a heartthrob who has quickly become a star playing cads, turns in a skilfully understated performance," says the review. "His Harpreet is an old-school hero: solid, righteous, compassionate. You can't help cheering for him."

In an equally flattering review, Film Journal International says: "David-and-Goliath workplace drama from India goes unexpected places, and hits satisfying chords."

The posters for the Bollywood import " promise a workplace satire or a light-hearted employee caper" it says. "Instead we get a sharply observed drama of an honest man trying to survive in the usual business world."

"In the exploding modern India, it's a very American story: How do you succeed in business without really trying to compromise your ethics?"

"Not all Bollywood movies are big, colourful musicals, of course, and this one offers only a couple of plot montages set against songs, it says, "But with uniformly excellent performances-particularly by (Naveen) Kaushik and (Shantanoo) Bhagyaraj as the conflicted and not-so-conflicted antagonists, respectively."

In addition, there is "a no-nonsense pace and storytelling sense by director Shimit Amin, and a truly universal and credible office mise-en-scene, 'Rocket Singh' is instantly accessible to any stateside audience," the Journal adds.

Harpreet Singh, the protagonist, "may be a prisoner of the system, but he can proudly say, 'I am not a number. I am a free market'," it says.

Indo-Asian News Service