A good movie is one which makes you feel good.
Forget about its bigger-than-life settings. Forget about its disconnects with real life rockers. Forget about the corny characters. Forget about its contrite dialogues. Forget about the predictable screenplay. Forget about the rock concerts that would do Shakira proud!!! Forget about the 'that is so stupid' moments.
Rock On!! is a movie which makes you feel good. You come out of the cinema with that typical heart-warming feeling and that is good enough for a bit of selective amnesia.
The direction is a tad better than the other recent Hindi movies. I am sure, though, that the director has made use of his producer's talent as a film-maker. The movie has all the moments that DCH had. The fight between two close friends, the late realization of one towards rapprochement and the death of one of the main characters of the movie. Too much of a similarity. One could be forgiven for thinking that Farhan Akhtar was the director! (Psst...just for the record, Abhishek Kapoor is the director!)
The story, though, fails to score. One of my friends was thinking of a career as a film-maker, no thanks due to the sheer lack of ingenuity on the part of the screenplay. Anyway, the film is about four friends who gang up to form a rock band. Arjun Rampal as Joe, Farhan Akhtar as Aditya, Luke Kenny as Rob and Purab Kohli as KD form a rock band 'Magic'. (Can you believe it, neither could I!!!) The band disbands after Joe has a run-in with Aditya over the (See...you are thinking of becoming a film-maker, ain't you?!) band's association with a leading music channel. However, (again, that same film-maker feeling, right?!) they get back together later for a final gig. (Final? Well, you are clever enough...guess the reason!!!) The other important characters are Debbie as Joe's girlfriend-turned-wife, Tanya as Aditya's ex and Sakshi as Aditya's wife. Of these, Prachi Desai as Sakshi excels. Clearly, she proves quite capable of transiting from the idiot box to the 70mm. She exudes the right amount of sentiment in the space she shares with Farhan Akhtar. Shahana Goswami as Debbie, too, has a pivotal role to play. She manages quite well in her role as Joe's nagging half.
However, I could not quite fathom the fact that Purab Kohli was given one of the minor roles in the movie. A load of talent wasted! Although Farhan Akhtar excels in his role, the character sounds patchy at times. Luke Kenny is good in the first half, but the story makes him look bad in the second. Arjun Rampal is by a long run, the best of the male acts. He acts every bit his character. Getting into the skin of one's character is any day, a tough job, but Arjun makes it look like child's play in the movie. The scene where he exchanges words with Shahana Goswami is moving, as one almost feels sorry for him, split as he is, between loyalties to his friends and to his family.
The music is the real treat of the movie. The title track sounds brilliant. One of the 'nicest' rock songs to hit the Hindi charts, one should say. Pichle Saat Dinon Mein is another track that one would enjoy. The vocals sync so well with the music that one hardly notices the strange sounding lyrics. However, the best is Ye Tumhari Meri Baatein. It is so soothing, that you want to listen to it many times over. The visualization and timing of the song in the movie too, are near-perfect. Sindbad the Sailor, Tum ho Toh and Socha Hai complete one of the best albums in Bollywood today. Kudos to Shankar, Ehsaan & Loy and Javed Akhtar for churning out some real good music!!!
Overall, the film is a good package. One of my friends complained that there is no real climax to the movie. Well, not all movies need to have a climax. Why can't they just be about a period of ones' lives?! You watch Rock On!! and tell me.
In the meantime, let me strum on my guitar. \../
My verdict - 4/5
Forget about its bigger-than-life settings. Forget about its disconnects with real life rockers. Forget about the corny characters. Forget about its contrite dialogues. Forget about the predictable screenplay. Forget about the rock concerts that would do Shakira proud!!! Forget about the 'that is so stupid' moments.
Rock On!! is a movie which makes you feel good. You come out of the cinema with that typical heart-warming feeling and that is good enough for a bit of selective amnesia.
The direction is a tad better than the other recent Hindi movies. I am sure, though, that the director has made use of his producer's talent as a film-maker. The movie has all the moments that DCH had. The fight between two close friends, the late realization of one towards rapprochement and the death of one of the main characters of the movie. Too much of a similarity. One could be forgiven for thinking that Farhan Akhtar was the director! (Psst...just for the record, Abhishek Kapoor is the director!)
The story, though, fails to score. One of my friends was thinking of a career as a film-maker, no thanks due to the sheer lack of ingenuity on the part of the screenplay. Anyway, the film is about four friends who gang up to form a rock band. Arjun Rampal as Joe, Farhan Akhtar as Aditya, Luke Kenny as Rob and Purab Kohli as KD form a rock band 'Magic'. (Can you believe it, neither could I!!!) The band disbands after Joe has a run-in with Aditya over the (See...you are thinking of becoming a film-maker, ain't you?!) band's association with a leading music channel. However, (again, that same film-maker feeling, right?!) they get back together later for a final gig. (Final? Well, you are clever enough...guess the reason!!!) The other important characters are Debbie as Joe's girlfriend-turned-wife, Tanya as Aditya's ex and Sakshi as Aditya's wife. Of these, Prachi Desai as Sakshi excels. Clearly, she proves quite capable of transiting from the idiot box to the 70mm. She exudes the right amount of sentiment in the space she shares with Farhan Akhtar. Shahana Goswami as Debbie, too, has a pivotal role to play. She manages quite well in her role as Joe's nagging half.
However, I could not quite fathom the fact that Purab Kohli was given one of the minor roles in the movie. A load of talent wasted! Although Farhan Akhtar excels in his role, the character sounds patchy at times. Luke Kenny is good in the first half, but the story makes him look bad in the second. Arjun Rampal is by a long run, the best of the male acts. He acts every bit his character. Getting into the skin of one's character is any day, a tough job, but Arjun makes it look like child's play in the movie. The scene where he exchanges words with Shahana Goswami is moving, as one almost feels sorry for him, split as he is, between loyalties to his friends and to his family.
The music is the real treat of the movie. The title track sounds brilliant. One of the 'nicest' rock songs to hit the Hindi charts, one should say. Pichle Saat Dinon Mein is another track that one would enjoy. The vocals sync so well with the music that one hardly notices the strange sounding lyrics. However, the best is Ye Tumhari Meri Baatein. It is so soothing, that you want to listen to it many times over. The visualization and timing of the song in the movie too, are near-perfect. Sindbad the Sailor, Tum ho Toh and Socha Hai complete one of the best albums in Bollywood today. Kudos to Shankar, Ehsaan & Loy and Javed Akhtar for churning out some real good music!!!
Overall, the film is a good package. One of my friends complained that there is no real climax to the movie. Well, not all movies need to have a climax. Why can't they just be about a period of ones' lives?! You watch Rock On!! and tell me.
In the meantime, let me strum on my guitar. \../
My verdict - 4/5
1 comment:
Dude add words like "Rock On movie review" to the blog's heading (for that matter any topic).. you will get hits from search engines easily.
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