Movie Review: Rock on – Magik worked!!! :D

2008 September 10

When I went to see Rock On, I had read enough reviews of the movie on the blogosphere. Suda, Ish, Anshul, Sandeep, Amit and Nita found it incredible, while The Tiny Window gave a thumbs down to it.

But, the general verdict was out – People were going mad after the movie. A phenomena that no movie has seen off late. There have been hits, where in the distributors and the producers have made money, but no movie in the recent past gained so much of popular admiration as this one did…

With tons of expectations hovering over me, I went for this movie… And well… I wasn’t disappointed.

Story
A predictable story of a rock band. What goes wrong between them, what kind of turns their lives take and how they get back together again to pursue their dream of making good music. The best part of the movie was well-etched characters – Adi, Joe, Rob, and KD. All of them have distinct personalities and you know exactly how each will behave in what situation. Adi played by Farhan Akhtar is the vocalist and lyricist, Joe played by Arjun Rampal is the lead Guitarist, Rob played by Luke Kenny is the keyboardist, KD played by Purab Kohli is the drummer of the Rock band called Magik! There is one thing that binds them all together and that is the love for music. They are passionate about their art and are very good at what they do. Joe and Rob say at different times in the film, that their art is all they can do!

Prachi Desai plays the role of Sakshi, Adi’s wife and Shahana Goswami is Debbie, Joe’s wife. Sakshi’s character is that of a woman who is not happy with her married life because her husband doesnt give her enough attention. She starts on a tirade to find out whats hidden behind the steely expterior of her husband. On the other hand, Debbie is a half-crazy woman who is trying hard to make things work for her family, which is not doing pretty well. I really liked the way her character is shown. And you were most probably cursing debbie everytime she is mean to Joe or isnt letting him get together with Magik. But its very important to note here that she was right in her own way. Dreams are one thing and being realistic totally another. A lot many people have ruined their lives in pursuing their dreams! So, I liked her character a lot with its different shades!

Performances
Very strong performances by all the characters. Each character does what they are supposed to do. Only minus was Koel Puri. Her character did not make any difference to the plot or the theme of the movie. She looked like she had been put there for no reason, which is a huge turn down for an actress of her calibre!

Arjun Rampal gave a decent performance. He got into the skin of the strong and silent joe. Although he could have done a little more work on the guitar bit because sometimes his guitar performances looked artificial, the expression and the hand movement specially. Purab and Luke were both excellent.

Amongst the girls, Prachi looks very pretty and for a debutante, she is quite impressively very confident. You would think it was her 3rd or 4th movie. About Shahana, her age came as surprise to me. She is all of 22 and has done such a mature portrayal. Hats off to her! Excellent performance.

Now about the star of the movie, Farhan Akhtar. Well, I think the best way to compliment his performance in Rock On would be to say that

“Here is our generation’s answer to Kishore da”

The guy floored us all with his knack to understand the pulse of the Indian audience. He showed this to us by making Dil Chahta Hai – A movie extremely close to every Indian’s heart. And now, he floors us not just with his performance, but also his voice. He had the people crooning over the music of “Aasman hai neela kyun paani geela geela kyun?” I admit I was looking for a negative, and was difficult to find anything at all. And his smile!! :) Oh well… m sure the girls went mad looking at him :)

Music
For a non-rock lover, I surprisingly enjoyed the music. I find rock music very loud, and unpleasant to hear (sorry Ish and Ashish) but I was simply floored by the music of this movie. Excellent work by Shankar Ehsaan and Loy and excellent rendition by Farhaan. Cute crazy lyrics. I specially loved

Meri Laundry Ka Ek Bill,
Ek Aadhi Padi Novel…
Ta Na Na Na Na….
Ta Na Na Na Na….
Ek Ladki Ka Phone Number,
Mere Kaam Ka Ek Paper…
Ta Na Na Na Na….
Ta Na Na Na Na….
Mere Taash Se Heart Ka King,
Mera Ek Chandi Ka Ring
Pichhle Saat Dino Mein Maine Khoya
Kabhi Khud Pe Hansa Main Aur Kabhi Khud Pe Roya

Hehehehheh adorably cute these lyrics are… moreover since they mean nothing!! :)

To sum it up, have the time of your life, go watch this movie :) and come out with a hugeeeeeeeeeeeeee smile on your face :)

35 Responses leave one →
  1. 2008 September 10

    Going by your review, I should be going to the show tonight. It was a cute one, and showed Nova totally in love with the movie and its stars.
    :) it is so hard to find in the cynic age of today.

  2. 2008 September 10

    Not seen it yet, is it worth? CD Rental, Theater or Free Download?

  3. 2008 September 10

    Awesome movie … I enjoyed it even though I went to see the movie alone!

    The best part is the music, and it is tough ask to pick up the best song (though my current favorite is ‘Phir Dekhiye’)

    Meanwhile, I made a prophetic statement about awesomeness of its music, esp the song “Pichle Saat Dino Mein” around 2 months ago, when I painfully downloaded Rock On sound track painstakingly with help of awesome speed of my cell’s GPRS and when all critics were writing down the music of Rock On (though they are going ga-ga over it rite now!)

    :)

  4. 2008 September 10

    haven’t watched i yet…:P

  5. 2008 September 10

    Yeah, I agree .. It was a fabulous ride from beginning to end ..

    Ofcourse farhan was just too good in the movie and he is the whole & sole of the entire show .. But for me, the person who stole the show was debbie(Shahana Goswami) .. she was terrific .. her expressions, her acting, her face remarks, her dialogue delivery .. wow, she was really awesome ..

    all in all, a nice movie and i can see farhan winning ‘Best male debutant award’ beating harman baweja, imran khan, that aamir’s hero some khandelwal ..

    ROCK ON!!

  6. 2008 September 10

    @Manpreet: Nice :) And yeah I am usually an extremist. Either I shower praises or well..God bless them ;)

    @Chirax: The movie is about music and you will get the real feel of the music in a dolby sound theatre!! So go for a theater

    @Nik: Yeah :) And to think of it, I dint like the songs that much initially :)

    @Vishesh: :)

    @Soham: Yap :) You never know about the award :) Too much competition this time

  7. 2008 September 10

    Can’t wait to download it!
    Thanx for the honest review..

  8. 2008 September 10

    Neat review Nova! I guess everyone is liking this movie, even those you are not into rock. Actually rock is of my generation, when there was no Indian pop music at all. We grew up on it! Either it was western or it was hindi or marathi film music or there was classical.
    I am surprised you compared farhan akhtar to Kishorkumar though. However I guess the potential is there. I loved his music and love him as a director too. This movie is worth seeing again, for me at least.

  9. 2008 September 10

    SO you too loved it :) me too :D

    Cool review. Have you seen A Wednesday? It is another movie worth watching.

  10. 2008 September 10

    Excellent review! I thought Rock On fever will die down and Nova wont do areview :P I liked the movie.

  11. 2008 September 10

    @Tarunreflex: :)

    @Nita: Thanks. And yes, comparison is quite raw as of now, but m sure there is potential.

    @Smita: I m gonna try and catch it this weekend

    @Reema: Thanks Reems. Heheehe Rock On fever is going to be around for a while ;)

  12. 2008 September 10

    i saw it… and loved it :) .. so no wailing reviews this time… i also hrd tht it has a Dil chahta hai feel abt it… ain’t seen tht… so no cmnts :)
    Evn Taran Adarsh wrote sumthin like tht…

    @chirax : yup.. it is downloadable… but at the end of the movie they ask u “not to dnload the songs and to buy the CDs…” and u r thinking abt dnlding the movie itself ;)

  13. 2008 September 10

    Iam not sure what to say ( or even should say something) about the movie , but must say that your review was very well written.
    The scene between Shahana and Farhan towards the end of the movie was absolutely terrific in terms of Shahana’s performance..how can anybody act so well in her first movie..it’s amazing…

  14. 2008 September 11
    Pradeep permalink

    A very good movie indeed and they could have made it even better by taking a very good and trained singer instead of Farhan…. Farhan has the attitude.. but he doesn’t have the voice or the singing to make up to it, he has gone out of note many a times……. Shankar, Ehsan and Loy have made amazing efforts to make his voice audible…. :)

  15. 2008 September 11

    I too loved this movie though there are some hitches… But i didn’t get convinced at the scene where magik fails. That scene could have been much more dramatic and twisting.
    Lyrics are cheesy but good. haha
    Movie is bit slow, but second half is better.

    Anyway, it’s not Dil Chahta Hai, but it’s good.

  16. 2008 September 11

    I dislike Koel Purie frm the deepest core of my heart. She was just a glamorous prop in the film..i agree with u..

    Shahana Goswani’s performance is laudable! She essayed the role of Arjun Rampal’s disgruntled wife to a T ;-) she is truly MAGIKAL ;-)

    U know she even played Boman Irani’s wayward daughter in ‘Honeymoon Travels’…and she forayed into filmdom with Naseeruddin Shah’s ‘Yun Hota To Kya Hota’ ..very few know abt it..

    Chk her in the Randeep Hooda starrer RU-BA-RU tht releases tomm and even Nandita Das’ maiden directorial venture FIRAAQ..

    her last name is goswaNi

  17. 2008 September 11

    thanks for linking me ..I expected that. I think I am entitled for my opinion. just bcoz whole world goes ga ga I need not say it was good. I got damn bored hence I did not like it . period .

  18. 2008 September 12
    Rachana permalink

    Aah…everyone is gaga over this movie and it hasn’t released over here and don’t want to watch on my PC :(

    And that song and its absurd lyrics. Did you see its music video?

  19. 2008 September 12

    Very nice review. I saw it last Friday and LOVED it. And that song Especially. Me and me friends keep singing it in the college. Its so much fun!!

  20. 2008 September 12

    kya kaheen… the movie simply rocks! :) had enjoyed it throughly :) and the music is too good!

  21. 2008 September 12

    i felt exactly the same way u’ve mentioned in the last lines… a very good movie indeed…

  22. 2008 September 13

    I had sky high expectations while going for this movie.

    Though it was a good watch but certainly NOT as great as t is made out to be.

    There have been better movies in this genre – DCH being the most prominent one.

    The story had lots of make believe scenes and the whole re-union stuff seemed artificial. Could have been handled in a better way.

    I agree about the music though – Damn Good !

  23. 2008 September 14

    Detailed review :D

    Haven’t watched it yet :(

  24. 2008 September 14

    What is amazing about the lyrics is that Javed Akhtar wrote these lines :) What a versatile writer?

  25. 2008 September 14

    Refreshing…. :)

  26. 2008 September 14

    When are u going to Wednesday?

  27. 2008 September 15

    i didnt read that..cause i wanna watch it..jus read the last line..now im convinced that i have to go watch it!

  28. 2008 September 15

    you are smitten by FA… movie ain’t all that great :P

  29. 2008 September 17

    Nice review…

    After reading this i thought that i missed few imp points while writing review myself…

    anyways njoied reading this as always…

  30. 2008 September 18

    its always a delight to read your reviews but i guess this time i dont want to read the story because i will go out to watch this movie the day my exams get over …..hopefully the picture should be featured even after the new releases lined this friday .but in case my plan flops i will go for your post :)

  31. 2008 September 18

    @Tessie: Hmmm DCH feel.. naaaah!!!

    @Lallopallo: Thanks lallo Yep… she is amazing

    @Pradeep: I dont know pradeep! Sometimes training ruines the natural art.. which is why Farhan’s voice was so fresh and different

    @Dark Knight: Yes its not DCH

    @Swats: Agree with ur comments And thanks for the correction Will cross check it

    @BlueMist: I respect your opinion BlueMist

    @Rachana: Yes Rachana. Plz isko hall me dekhna!! Movie is amazing!! And so is the music! Best enjoyable only in the theatre!

    @Nids: Thanks Hehehehehe

    @Sakhi:

    @Su:

    @All talk: I came out of the theatre just feeling good… that I feel is the most important premise on which u can judge a movie. If a movie has lousy actors, lousy music and even lousy direction but ends up making me feel good, then I feel it has worked for me Coz I am really not that easy to please

    @Manasa: Watch it soon

    @Pr3rna: Yes!! Amazing lyricist

    @Sathish: Yes

    @Lemon: Hehehehe Please do!

    @Sandeep: Lol! :P Dont say that to Noobie :P

    @Anshul: Thanks

    @Arpit: Thanks I hope u get to see it soon

  32. 2008 September 20

    Watched it.. and loved it :D

  33. 2008 September 23

    Farhan Akhtar truly rocks in the movie

  34. 2008 October 4

    Opinions are respected, but seriously, Kishore Kumar??

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