The love of Rocket Singh's life is sales: Ranbir

Ranbir Kapoor and on screen romance almost go hand in hand but his much awaited 'Rocket Singh: Salesman Of The Year' has no love angle. He says the film's protagonist is completely in love with sales.

"It is not a love story. The character Rocket Singh is in love with sales. It's a very simple movie," Ranbir told us.

This year Ranbir was seen with Konkona Sen Sharma in hit movie 'Wake Up Sid' and later teamed up with Katrina Kaif in romantic comedy 'Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani', winning the hearts of audiences.

And now comes 'Rocket Singh' in which he plays Harpreet Singh Bedi, who has just graduated with embarrassing marks. But that doesn't stop him from dreaming about an exciting career. Releasing Friday, the film has been made under the Yash Raj Films' banner.

This is the first film in which Ranbir's physical appearance has been changed for a role. He looks a typical Sikh youth complete with a turban and beard. "It was very important to feel the character first, later you automatically start living him," Ranbir said.

He said that director Shimit Amin and screenwriter Jaideep Sahni had held different workshops for the cast and the crew before starting the shoot.

"Shimit wanted to make the character as real as possible so that it doesn't look as if an actor is trying to be a sardar. Shimit and Jaideep held workshops for 30 days, not just with me but the entire cast and crew," the actor said.

But despite being a Punjabi, Ranbir's character speaks fluent Hindi. "He is Mumbai-based fourth generation sardar, so he has no influence of a Punjabi accent in his diction," Ranbir explained.

In real life too, Ranbir is half Sikh as his maternal grandparents were Sikh.

Rocket Singh's music is no great shakes

It's one of the most fun-seeming releases in a while, and Shimit Amin's Rocket Singh: Salesman Of The Year is looking good. Ranbir Kapoor's in fine form, and writer Jaideep Sahni is a class act. Salim-Suleiman's soundtrack for the new film, however, has only three new tracks, the rest a smattering of random YashRaj hits.

'Main hoon bada busy/No time to even be' goes the inevitably suggestively titled Pocket Mein Rocket, penned clearly by Sahni in one of his more whimsical moods.

The song, referring to the title character's business cards in his pocket, is witty and sharp, while Salim-Suleiman give it a groove that makes it work even if you aren't listening to the clever words. The basic melody is whistle-able, and while the EMI-talk begins to sound repetitive, Benny Dayal sings it lazy enough to keep it likeable -- even though it does outstay its welcome at over four and a half minutes.

Vishal Dadlani sings the next track, Gadbadi Hadbadi. A funky track, this one's got a nice casual feel to it, and while Dadlani's vocals seem more aggressive than the song itself demands, the chorus is likeable, in a forgettable sort of way. It's a track which has riffs thrown in for the heck of it, and the kind of thing that can only work because of a good montage on screen.

Composer Salim Merchant goes one up on brother Suleiman and steps behind the microphone for Pankhon Ko, a nice soft track about taking flight and finding the wind beneath one's wings. The poetry is simple and effective, and Salim's voice is a pleasant surprise. It's the kind of dreamy song that works so well on Ranbir -- remember Iktaara from Wake Up Sid -- and ends up being an appropriately unspectacular pick of this laidback soundtrack.

Then come the free Yashraj tracks: three from Bachna Ae Haseeno -- Khuda Jaane, Lucky Boy and Jogi Mahi; three from Dil Bole Hadippa -- Hadippa, Discowale Khisko and Bhangra Bistar; two from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi -- Haule Haule and Dance Pe Chance; two from Tashan -- Dil Haara and Chhaliya; plus the Chak De India title track and Dil Laga Na from Dhoom 2 Yawwwn.

Fifteen tracks, but nothing to really make this CD worth buying. I think they released the soundtrack just for completeness' sake. One wishes they'd released tracks from the background score instead.