ROCK ON is SPOT ON!!

I saw ‘Rock On’ a couple of days back. After I came out of the theater, I went back to all the things portrayed in the movie, and thought it was a very influential movie signifying some of the very bitter truths of life. Each one of us has some dream. Someone wants to be a pilot, someone wants to play cricket for India, someone wants to make an Oscar winning film…. ‘Rock On’ is a fairy tale that pushes you to live that dream. If you have a dream left behind at the back of your mind, watch ‘Rock On’ it will give you a perspective, of where you are and where you could have been and whether you would want to be there. Follow your dreams and life will literally be on a song else five years down the line, a disgruntled you would shout at your wife ‘Dus saal pehle mainey yehi zindagi chuni thi… Yes it was a compromise but compromise kaun nahin karta?’.

‘Rock On’ is not just about dreams and music. It's about relationships also. As all of us would agree relationships can get really complicated and messy at times. ‘Rock On’ captures it beautifully, effectively and sensitively. ‘Rock On’ is an extremely well shot film with each shot actually communicating with the audience rather than just moving the film ahead and every scene enacted has an ease that almost seems like candid camera. The experience is quiet exhilarating also because it is the first Bollywood film that actually depicts a rock concert.

The onscreen performances of the actors mirror the status of their characters in the band throughout the movie. Almost as if the rock band’s chemistry is shared by the four actors. Also, despite parallel narration of two time-spans, very rarely does any scene seem out of place. ‘Rock On’ seems to be clearly designed by Farhan Akhar as his own acting debut and he doesn’t let himself down. Lending voice to all his songs helps him to get into his character with effortless ease. Arjun Rampal looks mature in his character and comes up with a career best performance. Purab Kohli has a natural flair for comedy and Luke Kenny is impressive in his role. From the female leads Shahana Goswami comes up with the most compelling act and is a natural scene stealer. In a small yet significant role Prachi Desai justifies her poised presence.

Being the first of its kind in Bollywood the rocking music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is the talk of the town and for once you don’t feel that songs are forced into a film. Jason West’s camerawork is just fabulous; Baylon Fonseca’s sound design is excellent. Although Abhishek Kapoor has been credited with story and direction but you can easily witness the ‘creative’ imprints of Farhan Akhtar.

‘ROCK ON is SPOT ON’ and is going to become a cult hit, one that achieves cult status and mainstream success as well.