Rock On Movie Rocks - Movie Review
Labels: Movie Review
Idlebrain Rating:3.5/5
Screenplay - direction: Abhishek Kapoor
Story
Aditya (Farhan Akthar), Joe (Arjun Rampal), KD (Purab Kohli) and Rob (Luke Kenny) are four friends in college and form a rock band called 'Magik'. A slight misunderstanding shatters their entire future in music when they are about cut their maiden music album. Wife of Aditya happens to see their nostalgic photographs 10 years after the incident. The rest of the story is all about how they reunite and perform on the stage.
Actors:
The nobility of this film is such that you don't need glamorous guys for the roles of rock stars. Hence the director has chosen the right actors. Farhan Akthar surprises you with his honest performance. Arjun Rampal who has shown his other side as villain in Om Shanti Om film reveals the complete actor him. He is a revelation in this film. Purab Kohli helps in getting some light moments. Luke Kenny is amazing. Shahana Goswamy gave amazing performance. Koel Puri is sweet. Prachi Desai is good.
Technical departments:
Story - Screenplay - direction: The story of the film is simple. It is about four friends who separated due to a misunderstanding during college going for reunion after a gap of 10 years. What makes this story work is screenplay and narrative style. The director juxtaposed the current story with spaced flashbacks. And music is just a part of the film and the director concentrated more on the relationship aspects in a matured way. The director tried to be hip without losing the honesty in the story. The director conveniently avoided the bad aspects (drugs, sex and alcohol) of rock bands in order to make this film appear very noble. However the following scenes impress you the most -
1. When Debbie comes and explains her husband situation to Aditya.
2. When KD sings and dances to it in a party.
3. When Aditya sings the song written by Joe in the finale
Technical departments: The music by Shankar – Ehsaan – Loy is excellent and it's their kind of film. Cinematography by Jason West is superb. Editing is crisp. Dialogues by Farhan Aktar are good.
Analysis:
Is ROCK ON!! DIL CHAHTA HAI 2, one is tempted to ask. DIL CHAHTA HAI was a trendsetter when you look back, paving way for storytellers who wanted a new story to tell. Now, the DIL CHAHTA HAI team of Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar with director Abhishek Kapoor deliver ROCK ON!!, a film that makes you understand the true meaning of friendship.Put your hands together for one of the finest films of our times. Put your hands together for a director who pulls off a challenging subject with élan. Put your hands together for the actors who pitch in superlative performances.
ROCK ON!! is not just about music. It's about relationships. And relationships can get really complicated and messy as all of us would agree. ROCK ON!! captures it so beautifully, so sensitively, so effectively on celluloid.
Everything is in sync here, everything is just perfect. Flaws? Perhaps, the slow pacing. But come to think of it, you can't play with the edit in a film like this. ROCK ON!! also works because you can relate to the characters, you can relate to the moods, the egos, the highs and the lows...
ROCK ON!! bears some resemblance to the Hollywood film THAT THING YOU DO [Tom Hanks], but it could be a mere coincidence. Director Abhishek Kapoor sets it in the Indian milieu efficiently. Watch the bonding shatter into pieces for no fault of anyone in particular actually. It's the circumstances that play the villain here and Abhishek captures it on lens so beautifully. The fragile relationships, how piece after piece is put together and the journey to the climax… the narrative is so compelling, it makes you feel you're witnessing all of it first-hand.
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music is perfect. It's completely in sync with the mood of the film. Connoisseurs of music have already showered the music with rave reviews and rightly so! Jason West's cinematography is fantastic. The screenplay and dialogues are commendable.
Every performance in the film deserves brownie points. Farhan Akhtar makes his debut as an actor and he displays rare maturity for a first-timer. Known as an accomplished director all along, Farhan will now be acknowledged as a mature actor as well. Arjun Rampal delivers his finest performance to date. Watch him emote those tough emotional moments and also as a failed person in the latter parts and you'd realize that he has only grown with the passage of time. Superb is the word!
Prachi Desai scores in her very first feature. She has a challenging role and footage-wise too, it's substantial. Prachi brings in a lot of freshness and poise. Plus, she's a competent actor. Shahana Goswami is a talent to watch out for. Her performance is one of the most difficult ones for a newcomer and the confidence with which she carries it deserves to be lauded. Koel Purie has a brief role and she enacts it quite well.
On the whole, ROCK ON!! is an amazing experience. The highpoint is the emotional quotient, the skilful performances and the superb execution of the subject. At the box-office, this urban film holds tremendous appeal for metros and mini-metros. Business at multiplexes of Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and NCR, Kolkata and South in particular should be excellent. Very strongly recommended!
