Rock On!!
Rating: 6 / 10.
Rock On is a film about four friends, Aditya (Farhan Akhtar), Rob (Luke Kenny), Joe (Arjun Rampal) and Kedar (Purab Kohli), who are driven by their passion for rock music. Their rock band Magic however fizzles out due to conflicting ideologies and the story is about how these four come together again after ten years.
The first half of the film is a drag with a lot of inconsequential scenes. The film’s dialogues are old-school and very cliché.
A brilliant performance by Arjun Rampal, Farhan Akhtar’s acting debut and a good soundtrack is the saving grace for this poorly written & executed film. Although it’s worth mentioning that the film has an exceptionally good production design and styling. Shahana Goswami and Purab Kohli have done a terrific job in their respective roles. However, the much talked about Prachi Desai is mostly ineffective in her performance.
Undoubtedly the credit goes to the debut actor Farhan Akhtar, who has also lent his voice to most of its sound track.
The movie tries to recreate the Dil Chahta Hai magic once again and does an average job at it. Regardless of the fact that the story and its screenplay is flawed & below average, it will still draw huge crowds, especially the young audience. It is highly likely that the movie would do a good business, especially in multiplexes.
I feel the following reviews of ‘Rock On’ were somewhat misleading -
Chandrima Pal’s review of Rock On [Buzz18.com]
Sumit Bhattacharya’s review of Rock On [Rediff.com]
- Gaurav Suryavanshi
The timing of the movie matters a lot too. There are no big releases in sight for sometime so this movie is going to work. And the movie is definitely better than the trash we are served nowadays.
True (about the timing & no other big releases). It’s just a little bit better than the other films that we’ve seen recently.
I also feel that over the years we, as audience, have lowered our standards and so have a lot of film makers. At the same time, we have seen some ‘really good’ movies off late. Taare Zameen Par, Jaane Tu & Mumbai Meri Jaan to name a few. BUT, I see a widening gap here. A lot of really bad movies and a few really good movies.
However, one thing we MUST acknowledge and that is, ‘good enough’ is not enough!
well, i dont really think jaane tu was a good movie..with a cliched script and a ’sad’ ending, it was just that the movie appealed to youngsters who hadnt seen a climax at the airport. Rock On is definitely the best movie so far
http://bollywoodtrends.blogspot.com
@starwin : you have a wonderfully managed blog with lots to talk about movies & music. i will definitely read through them over this weekend. thanks.
(coming back to the topic)
The story of Jaane Tu was not cliche (it wasn’t your regular boy meets girl movie). Also, the treatment of the story was very fresh. But the best part about the movie was its screenplay and the dialogues. Abbas Tyrewala (the writer & director) is surely a talented guy.
Sometimes what happens in the end is not as important or exciting as the journey itself. Jaane Tu was about the journey (of the actors and of the audience).
When you pay for the ticket, you certainly want the bang for the buck. But not just at the end of the film. The film has to be worth every scene, every dialogue, every movement and also every non-movement. This makes the movie a wholesome entertainment.
I remember once, during my college days (in 1999), we arrived late at the cinemas for the first show of ‘Kaun’ (a suspense thriller). It was no surprise to us that the tickets were all sold out. So the desperate film fanatics that we were, we ended-up buying the tickets in black after haggling with the guy (the black marketer) for over 10 minutes. Just before entering the complex, he yells us the climax of Kaun. Wow! The look on our face was priceless. BUT, thankfully the movie was worth it and we really enjoyed watching it (even after knowing the climax).
A the end, we all have a right to have an opinion. And an opinion is never wrong.
Happy Blogging!
amid a group of freinds, why does one have to die? that too with a stupid brain tumour?!??!!! and why the hell does he have to hide it from his friends???!!! cliche cliche cliche!!! A musician can have other health problems beside cancer, tumour, and ailments…maybe the director and producer should watch Dr. Grey’s Anatomy on star world for ideas. Great music! Rampal was normal…cant call it phenomenal. One more thing: do all investment bankers in INDIA live on a high rise with a decor in shades of grey? Is this Manhattan or what?
I meant heart ailments!!
It could be anyone.. the Screenwriter or the Script Supervisor or the Production Manager or Make-up Artist or Costume Designer.. sometimes people tend to over deliver and in the process they not only sabotage their own careers but also the film. What they sometimes don’t realize (or at times overlook) is that the audience these days, can easily pick such irregularities.
Sometimes the artist thinks that they are too good for their job and they end up giving 200% to it. Or if they like a particular colour or a style and they use that in the film. .. It’s just like cooking. It has to be the right ingredients, in the right proportion for the dish to taste nice.
So Artists, PLEASE DON’T DO YOUR OWN THING
I am now looking forward to this week’s release, A Wednesday (I think it might be a good film)!
I should do another write-up on Rock On! This one should be FUN… surprise surprise!!
yeah..thanks..for your comment…gaurav..but this argument will keep on going..i still maintain that jaane tu was cliched. the boy and girl being friends, but later discovering love was also there in kuch kuch hota hai…but i cant take back from the fact that the dialogues were good, they were contemporary and not filmi at all.
though u are rite in saying that the end is not that important as the journey, i still vouch that the climax has to be amazing..well that is why it is called climax…so that it leaves an impact, which rock on and lagaan have done. still jaane tu was one of the better movies of the year, but my money is on rock on.
@starwin :
Arguments & Discussions are good. They motivate us to think outside our respective boxes.
The film has to do justice to the script. If the script demands an exciting or thrilling climax then so it should be!
Unfortunately, ‘Sindbad the Sailor’ didn’t come to my rescue and I was driven to new peaks of boredom at the end of it all. But I must admit, I was mesmerized by Arjun Rampal’s Headbanging and so I generously overlooked his inability to play the guitar.
But thats just me.
I liked rock on a lot. And having seen most of the so called intellectual movies (kurusawa et al)..I have realized that it is futile to lecture or even think one is better than others just because of viewpoints about a movie.
Jaane tu was trash, and you might have liked it. Does it make me genius and you a stupid? I dont think so.
I am a lead guitarist in a band, so I know that Rampal didnt do justice to the guitaring part but was he supposed to? I have seen scores of hollywood rock movies and there also the artist does not mimic notes to perfection.
Come down on earth folks or go ahead and make a movie…let us judge how much stuff you have
For me a good movie is the one which will make the audience sit and watch the titles when it ends and just take some time to come back to the real world. And this movie surely did it for me. Well if I sit down and start pointing the flaws going scene by scene, I could probably find a thousand of them. But what matters is the overall effect and I will say that this movie is a winner in that sense. But as said, everyone is entitled to have an opinion and this is just me.
@ungaurav : (nice name / nickname)
You liked ‘Rock On’ a lot and that’s great. We all are free to have an opinion about everything.
“Was Arjun Rampal supposed to do justice to the guitaring?” .. ‘Joe’ was!
In my opinion, Arjun Rampal definitely did do justice to his character. His performance in the film was terrific. Since the actor was performing on the stage, it was the job of the director / cinematographer to make it *look authentic*.
Like I said in my previous comment, I was so mesmerized by his Headbanging (performance) that it just did not matter at that time (not that I did not see the him play).
In short, Arjun Rampal did do justice to his PERFORMANCE. The director / cinematographer, could have done better in hiding these irregularities.
I would love to take up your offer to make a movie. Would you be financing it? I surely can’t afford it at this point.
Peace
@chetan : well said.
Dear Gaurav,
Pal I dont have that kind of money otherwise I would be funding upstarts and newbies.
But on a serious note I feel that any intent on being a critique of movies is a futile endeavour as each viewer creates his / her own experience while watching the movie (or storytelling). Sure some people use better words (expressions) but there is no guarantee that will move people.
A Citizen Cane can be great movie for westerners, but show it to folks in village of India and you will draw blank faces.
And as for comments by diya on cliches etc…isnt life cliched? Love, hate, birth and death…what is phenomenally different from a gen to next ??? If you put a different shade or change perspective then things might seem better…..
adios amigo. Bye
I feel that this movie deserves a little more than 6. It was pretty realistic and a good one too…
@Kumar:
What is real? Is ‘Rock On’ more real than ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’ or is ‘A Wednesday’ more real than ‘Rock On’? Reality is relative. It is nothing more than a cumulative result of the influences around you.
If you can relate to ‘Rock On’ more then its real for you. If I can relate to the Mumbai train blasts more than ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’ may be more real for me.
In my review, my only concern is the art of film making. I am nobody to judge the theme.
I gave it a 6 out of 10 only on technical grounds. The movie will do a good business regardless. It’s got what sells. Everyone should be happy?