Archive for August 31st, 2008

Posted on August 31, 2008 - by Reema

Movie Review: Rock On!!

So yea, I said the next review would be Mere Baap Pehle Aap. It sucked anyway, so I’ll just skip it. No need to waste my time on it, especially when there’s good movies to be seen and reviewed, like this one.

Rock On!! stars Farhan Akhtar in his first acting role, Prachi Desai of ‘Kasam Se’ in her first Bollywood role, Arjun Rampal, Luke Kenny, and Purab Kohli. Music by SEL, lyrics by Javed Akhtar. It’s a movie about 4 friends, and we go back and forth between present day and 10 years ago, when they formed a band called “Magik”.

It’s a simple story, but these days, execution means everything. And Abhishek Kapoor, the director, gets it so right. He’s said that the casting was very important to him, he wanted his lead actor to sing his own songs, he wanted the backups to play their own instruments. He wanted to give his movie a real life feel, and he’s certainly succeeded. There’s a realness, and freshness to the movie. You feel like it’s a real band, struggling, rocking the stage, going through their ups and downs.

The conflict in the movie (because there always is one) occurs when the guys sign their first contract. They aren’t given the liberties that they expected, and this bothers them, especially Joe (Arjun). He blows up when Adi (Farhan) is given more face time in their first music video. They were all young, immature, and this really destroys the band. It’s by chance that they are reunited, but all of their lives have changed, and not necessarily for the better.

We’re promptly taken in, seeing why Adi’s so withdrawn from his wife, why he freaks out when she uncovers his past, how Joe struggles to make ends meet, how KD (Purab) is still his crazy self, and Rob (Luke) trying to keep music in his life. It may get a bit predictable towards the end, but as I’ve said before, what movie isn’t?

One note about Luke Kenny’s character, I don’t like the direction it took towards the end. I feel that could have been completely avoided, and don’t really see the need for it. If anyone has any insight, or something I missed that makes it fit, please let me know.

Performances you ask? Farhan Akhtar knocks it out of the park. Way out. He’s brilliant as Aditya Shroff. He plays the character to perfection. He sounds great singing as well. Such a unique voice, even in the slow ballad. He definitely fits the role of a rocker.

Arjun Rampal has impressed me two straight times now. He’s finally getting his due as an actor, and he’s delivering. This is his best performance since Tehzeeb, and I really hope he keeps it up. He’s got great potential, and with those looks combined with extraordinary talent, he’ll be unstoppable. One thing though, his long hair bothered me. And that mooch, it must go.

Purab Kohli was cute, though I wish he had some funny lines thrown in, so we see his personality a bit more. I loved his ‘I will survive’ routine, don’t miss it. Luke Kenny was great as well. Prachi Desai makes a great transition from TV to movies, and she does her role well. I just hope she doesn’t get typecast as ‘Bani’ from TV, because she could have an equally successful career in movies. Sahana Goswami also makes her debut as Joe’s wife, and she’s equally as good as Prachi. Both women have different circumstances, therefore the performances are different, but both make their presence felt in every scene they are in.

Abhishek Kapoor has really impressed me. I read the interview he did for BollySpice, and really loved his answers. You can tell he’s put a lot of work into this movie, and the critics seem to appreciate it. They’ve all loved the movie, it’s the best reviewed movie of the year so far. And it’s well deserved, if you put the work in, you’re bound to succeed.

SEL do it again, producing music that’s perfect for the film. Their tracks are all rocking, perfect fits in the movie. I love Sinbad the Sailor the most, and seeing it picturized like it was was a treat.

It’s the best movie of the year, by far. Rock On!! is a must see, please don’t miss it.

And, a parting shot…