Krazzy Ramblings

Well this was not the movie I had in mind to write my first review on the blog.... ah well.. wat the heck... jus back from FDLS (First Day Last Show) screening so.............


Without giving away much, let me throw some light on the movie:
Rock On takes us on a tour through the lives of the members of the band 'Magik'. It's about how a band of 4 friends sharing the same passion for creating their own music, stay together, struggle for that one break to make it BIG! And once they have it, how it all falls apart for reasons the rock genre is well known for (ego issues, selling out, creative differences etc..etc..)... Its been 10yrs now since they've seen each other and are going on about with their mundane lives.
Its when the wife of Aditya, the lead singer (Farhan Akhtar) of Magik, stumbles upon her husbands past which he's kept sealed and locked away in his closet (quite literally at that!) that the ball for a reunion is set in motion.

As far as the story is concerned, well like I said from the promos its more or less evident, so not much expectations there however the story doesn let you down.

Performances are top-notch, especially all the debutants - Farhan portrays his character with panache... be it the young lead singer of a rock band OR a sophisticated investment banker who has it ALL ( trust me when u drive a BMW to work... you really have it all !!). Prachi Desai as his wife just shows us that if she can pull off sati-savitri bahu on the telly, she can do the same in a modern way on the BIG screen with equal elegance. Purab Kohli & Luke Kenny - have done justice to their roles, Purab with his comic antics manages to draw a few laughs especially with his rendition of the famous "I will survive" (watch out for that!). Arjun Rampal - really fits the role to the T. A hunk of a lead guitarist (like in most college bands) OR that catholic guy in the buy-lanes of Bandra selling guitars and teaching kids as well for a living. Shahana Goswami - Well I'd never heard nor seen her before this movie, but a stellar performance from her playing that perfect gf of a rock band member and then sinking smoothly into that christian wife running a fish business for her family. She's really someone to look out for....


I'm not sure about you guys (the few reading this post ;) ) but a lot of people will be able to relate to this movie. Especially from the urban areas or from the towns having a lot colleges. Be it the young college crowd or the not-so-young crowd, its not difficult to relate to it if you've been connected in any remote way to a rock band/show/event. Be it the member of a band or an add-on in the band (well.. i was tht! ), or someone in the band entourage or a groupie or jus someone out thr in the mosh-pit or in the crowds for that matter.... these people will easily relate to the whole movie, be it the practice sessions, the jamming sessions or the jitters before going on-stage, the anticipation when the results of a rock show are announced, the nervousness before a gig... its endless... for me it was a journey back in time.. and the director has tried his best to include most of these emotions.. so the people who can relate to it would really get what the director wants to say.

At the same time a lot of people can even relate to it on the grounds of having "moved-on" post college, i mean how many college bands out there really make it BIG?! I won't be surprised if after watchin this movie loads of such bands have a small reunion (atleast for once ;) )....

Having said that.. the movie isn't without some flaws...... the pace of the movie was really annoying... it truly had this wave like pace which really gets to you especially just before the interval... and in the second half too the pace falters.... the director (who is also a debutant - Abhishek Kapoor) has his heart in the right place and you know what he wants to say, but you still do feel the direction can do with a lot of improvement. Even the track with Aditya's college sweetheart has not been done justice to! The movie can easily be shortened by a good 15-20mins. Probably Farhan could've done a better job, since even though you feel the movie draws a lot of parallels from Dil Chahta Hai it simply falters at points in maintaining that intensity or your interest. But then again for a debutant - its a job well done.

For me the highlight of the movie has got to be its MUSIC !! For once the songs are not thrown at your face when not necessary....- well let me leave the music review for a new post all together :)

I'm not a BIG fan of Bollywood movies and i'm very selective about the Hindi movies I watch especially if i'm watchin 'em on the BIG screen. Rock On has its high moments and does falter at times but holds it back together for a good climax. (well you know its a bollywood movie when a band member comes back on stage playing his 'lead' on an electric guitar and driving the crowds wild, without even having it connected.. ;). watch out for it! )

Rating - 3/5
(0.5 is only for Farhan Akhtar's acting & singing, truly genious, which i'm not sure how many actors can pull it off, esp singing all your songs on the album...... umm ya well.... lets leave Himesh out pls!)

Keep Rockin,
\m/ A \m/