I am an avid movie watcher. And I try to watch almost every movie. And I can practically sit most of the movies without an issue either. It is rare that movies out do my thought process but then this was different.
Rock On!! … As the name suggest the movie is indeed special. The movie is fast, it is stylish, and it gives you a feeling of newness and is contemporary. But more than anything else it has script which makes the character breathe life into it. It has story which tells you about shades of life where you can relate to. The heart of any film lies in its characters and your ability to empathize with them. Rock On makes you do that. In a nutshell, here's a film you just can't afford to miss. We've had our share of masala films week after week. Now have a look at a film that India can proudly showcase to the West. ROCK ON!! simply rocks!
The film is an interesting mix about four friends and their families involved and parallels about the rock band these guys are part of. Shades of Dil Chahata Hai and Jhankar Beats for the Music competition relevance. The movie is an interesting mix of emotions and relationship and has lot to do with music. Circumstances play villain here and it has been captured well. The fragile relationship and the compelling narrative makes you spellbound.
Purab Kohli is tremendous and so is Luke Kenny. The extremely talented Purab Kohli may be reduced to the comic sidekick here, but he gives the film some of its nicest moments. Arjun Rampal does well in the role. A guy who towers above the rest with an earnest performance as the idealistic musician. And how can you forget the powerhouse performer Shahana Goswami. She was just marvelous. Superb is the word.
But to me this film is all about Farhan Akhtar. Years later when we sit and discuss this might end up be the bench mark for him. Such has been his enormity in the acting skills that some how I feel is vocal chords might have been over shadowed. It's courageous on the part of the film's makers that they went with Farhan's vocals for the songs that are filmed on him. And they were spot on. 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
There is something about Farhan that we keep on discussing. He started his movie career with a bang with the Dil Chahata Hain getting rave reviews and critical acclaim. He followed that with another good movie Lakshya. The only discomforting factor about that movie was that every time I watched it I started comparing it with his earlier classic DCH. Comparisons are hard to justify and the movie pales into insignificance in front of DCH. How much did I think that if Lakshya was his first movie then Lakshya might have been accepted by the audience much much more. But then would we have known Farhan Akhtar the way we know him today in case his directorial debut was Lakshya. We know Farhan Akhtar because of DCH and how much you try to better; DCH was one puzzle hard to repeat.
Coming back to Rock On !! It is an amazing experience. The highpoint is the emotional quotient, the skillful performances and the superb execution of the subject.
Rock On!! leaves you to feel nostalgic about your young age. And ends in a feel-good note, to follow your dreams. And before I end let me confess that I jumped out of my seat the moment I saw Farhan Akhtar singing the Dandiya version of “Sanso Ki Jarurat Hain Jaise”.
A must watch movie.
