The Expression Hub

Starring: Ranbir Kapoor, Shazahn Padamsee, Prem Chopra, Gauhar Khan,Manish Chaudhari, Naveen Kaushik,Mukesh Bhatt, D’Santosh

Directed By: Shimit Amin

Genre: Comedy-Drama

“Great salespeople are relationship builders who provide value and help their customers win.”

Jefferey Gitomer

What makes a person a great success or something good at the task he or she does ? Is it talent or is it hard work or is it the mark sheet or is it the inherent qualities of a person which may be something like perseverance or creativity or passion or leadership or honesty? Well, the answer to this question does not lie in one word as it is often a combination of the qualities possessed by a person which makes him or her stand out in professional life. What are the qualities possessed by you which make you stand apart in your professional life ? Do tell me in the comments section. The reason for this is there is no such individual who does not possess any quality which does not define him or her in his or her professional as well as personal lives. Every individual is unique and it is this uniqueness which resides in him or her that makes him or her stand out. This week’s pick also revolves around one such person? Are you eager to find out more? Read on…

Story line: Meet Harpreet Singh Bedi, a B.Com graduate who just barely scrapes through his final year examinations by securing approximately 39 percent. After graduation, instead of going for further studies, he decides to become a salesman . He applies for the post of a salesman with a corporate computer assembly and service company named AYS. Despite being rejected by the sales manager, he manages to land the job and starts learning the tricks of the trade from Nitin. Soon, he is given a major field visit but is taken aback when the manager of the company asks for a kickback. This makes him write a complaint against the manager, not knowing the fact that the manager he has complained against is a big client and this can land him in a soup. After landing in the soup due to his actions and facing condemnation from his seniors, Harpreet starts feeling lonely and humiliated. As days pass, and after being barred from making any field visits, he gets an opportunity in the form of a lead given by his colleague Koena. After making the field visit and nearly disappointing the very lead he which had given a lease of fresh life to his nearly extinct career, he soon realizes that the success of a sale depends on the experience provided to the customer and not by giving incentives. This realization makes him take a bold step- to start his own startup named Rocket Sales Corporation within the company he is working. The rest of the story deals with how their startup function and what are the challenges faced by them. Will the startup started by them tide over the tough times or will they face a setback?

Scrutiny: This movie tries to explore the life of an individual who is supposed to be a person who is very upright and naive not knowing how to deal with the world around him. For him, what matters is the values he has been brought up with. But as time progresses, he learns that the world rarely functions on the values he has been brought up with. This naive yet upright attitude of his lands him in a soup initially and later on proves to be useful for him as he sets up his firm. The movie tries to teach you lessons without being too preachy which are really useful for future entrepreneurs. Even though the story line is crisp, there are certain chinks in the story line. Like for instance, the female leads of the movie are just reduced to either being dolls or being a subordinate.This is despite the fact that they do try to play an equally important role in the movie. Shazahn Padamsee who made a debut with this film could have been given a better portrayal instead of being reduced to being a pretty doll face. However, the portrayal of the issues faced by an employee in a corporate office seemed realistic. So, a huge applause for that aspect.

But there was one thing which kind of irked me – the portrayal of the character of Gauahar Khan and unfortunately a sad reality. Receptionists of the company are just pretty faces of the company and nothing else. This is despite the fact that they are the ones who are in charge of managing a lot of aspects to ensure the smooth functioning of the company.Also, the fact that she is an independent woman yet she lives in the fear of her husband felt so degrading even though it was supposed to mirror the society which we are supposedly living in(for the non-Indians, this is how the supposedly Indian society functions where more than your well being you have to worry about what others will think. Though, this mindset is undergoing a change, yet the social conditioning exists. ). Also, the details as regards to the corporate world are spot on. Incredible work done by the team who was behind the set design.

What was interesting was the character portrayed by Manish Chaudhari who plays the role of Sunil Puri. He is the person who is supposed to be a supportive man but turns into a career destroyer for Harpreet Singh and then does a u-turn to redeem his career again. Multiple shades of human nature I guess does not make a man completely saint nor a sinner. But the fact that he could see the mistake he committed and rectify it by putting his ego aside made the man standout in the film. So, yes a huge shout out to him for portraying the shrewd yet wise businessman . This movie is supposed to be one of Ranbir Kapoor’s finest works. Had he chosen stories like this, believe me he would have been one of the most bankable actors the Hindi film industry would ever had.

The Sentiment: A movie which you can enjoy with your family on a weekend. After all it is a story of a supposed to be an underdog who outsmarts the stalwart and teaches him a great lesson in humility. Watch it for the standoff between the underdog and stalwart. Watch it for the inspiration that you can be anything if you set your heart to. Watch it for a great performance by Ranbir Kapoor (not a big fan but can watch him in some stories). It is definitely worth your time.

Rating: ***

Quote Unquote: “Risk toh Spiderman ko bhi leni padti hai, main toh phir bhi salesman hoon.”(Nitin to Harpreet and Harpreet to his team)

Que: What is the amount of compensation given by Mr. Puri as a compensation to Mr. Bedi?

a. 5 crores

b. 100 crores

c. 50 lakhs

d. Re . 1