Rocky rocks!
Jasmine Singh
Action thriller may be a popular genre with Bollywood, but when it comes to Punjabi cinema, we have seen filmmakers attempting it only in bits and parts. And now here is a film, Rocky Mental, that takes on the genre full throttle, justifying action and thrill.
Debutant director Vikram Thori’s film Rocky Mental gives Punjabi cinema a solid punch with its action. The story of the film, of an aspiring boxer caught on the wrong side of the fence, is though not a new thing for cine-goers, what, however, is new here is the treatment.
The opening of the film goes overboard in establishing the character of Rocky, aka Parmish Verma, but soon enough everything fall in place. The dialogues of the film can make you pick up Punjabi’s shabd kosh, nevertheless they fit the bill.
Rocky Mental is a quick watch, moving crisply from one scene to the other, justifying each action. It is the friendship angle in the film, which brings in moments of lightness and laughter. Though there are moments when the movie digresses from the main plot, next moment it immediately goes back on the right path for which the director Vikram Thori definitely needs a word of praise.
Rocky Mental marks the debut of video director, Parmish Verma as an actor on silver screen. Undoubtedly, Parmish has nailed his character, he not looks dashing on screen, he can act with intensity and with warmth. Punjabi cinema can count on him for intense action and except some comedy too! Next up is the artiste, who showed us his acting skill in the Punjabi film, Qissa Panjab, Dheeraj Kumar. Dheeraj not only acts superbly, the artiste can be credited for giving the main character a strong support. Jagjeet Sandhu is yet another actor from Qissa Panjab and in Rocky Mental he shows his comic timing as well. Though we feel Jagjeet has far more talent then what we saw in Rocky Mental. Karanveer Khullar and Mahabir Bhullar and two other artistes have justified their roles. As for line producer, Darshan Aulakh, Punjabi cinema has got another bad man.
Actress Tannu Kaur Gill makes her debut with Rocky Mental, and we bet the entertainment industry can register her name in the list of pretty faces, who can act too, if allowed.
The film’s music is macho, strong and likeable. Sharry Mann’s track, Yaara, is an emotional song, reminding us of Jaane Nahi Dainge Tujhe from 3 Idiots.
Rocky Mental does has its share of pull-down factors, but it is the action thrilling moments that attract major points, and then of course, we have Rocky (Parmish Verma), who rocks!
jasmine@tribunemail.com
