ROCK ON ..... ROCKS !
This one also got published in FilmFare (Oct Issue), as the 2nd best entry !
What makes ROCK-ON stand out is not just the original story line chosen by Abhishek Kapoor, but also the sensitivity with which Abhishek has handled the movie and the efforts that have been put in to build the characters. Closeness to reality, no melodrama, real situations and real relations, leaves the audience touched and feeling for the theme of the movie "Live Your Dreams" !
Farhan has done a mind blowing job in his debut as an Actor. Arjun Rampal, who earned rave reviews for his role in Om-Shanti-Om, has done a much better job as the sensitive lead guitarist. His subtle portrayal of a listening-husband of a nagging wife is truly remarkable. Purab and Luke have also essayed their roles very well. Prachi has a very fine debut playing the sweet wife of Farhan and has done justice to her role. Shabana Goswami after her performance in Naseerudin Shah's Yoon Hota tau kya hota, also leaves her mark playing the happy young designer girl aswell as a sad nagging fish-selling wife.
For a very small role as Farhan's girlfriend, Nicholette Bird has also done a good job.
The music of the movie is mind blowing, with Shankar Ehsaan and Loy giving us the first ROCK music from a bollywood film. Even Farhan, with his not too pleasing voice, does justice to the music. Surely the music of this film will be played in college concerts for many years to come. (Especially the "Saanp" song). After Dil Chahata Hai, knowing that these Lyrics come from Javeh Sahab, don't surprise us any more as he seems to have well understood what kind of lyrics such kind of music needs.
The scenes of the Rock Concerts are shot so well that they look like a real concert. The scene where Arjun joins the band in the last song and Farhan introduces him as the lead guitarist, leaves you with goose bumps. There are many such scenes in the movie which are subtle and leave you touched. For instance the scene when Prachi invites Purab and Luke to Farhan's birthday party, the uneasiness of Farhan is so well handled. Right after that Farhan is shown washing his hands in the wash basin, and his hand is shown trembling. It is a very small shot but tells Farhan'ss emotions so beautifully.
On a whole, Rock-On is a move which will act as a benchmark for all those new directors, who want to experiment with off-beat topics and how to treat them sensitively and with honesty.
Ameet Mattoo
New Delhi
3 comments:
Very nicely written.. would appreciate more reviews so that we can read them b4 watching movies.....
something bout relationships would also be a gud idea
have a gud time writing...
mridu
Ameet,
I agree with your "concert" paragraph..and c'est tout..
few points : 1) What is the NEED for Farhaan to sing . He says a lead singer with dubbing would not sound real..i hope he doesnot mean it..some of the live concerts are lipsynced without too much abberation.. i would have rather "KK" sing for him..also by the same logic what about the lead guitarist playing guitar etc etc
2) Farhaan's core competence is direction and he should stick to it ..I was let down by the fact that such a tremendous director can give such mediocre storytelling a go ahead.. particularly the first half was a drag
2) I think with the profusion of mp3 player, and so much music happening, we have been tolerant to "besuarapan"..Atif Aslam is a case in point ..
3)I predicted each scene in the movie. A little suspense, some twist is a hallmark of a good director..case in point AAMIR, WEDNESDAY etc etc
4)Luke should stick to being VJ
5)I have a feeling that the "very good ending" left a good aftertaste of forgiveness for the complete movie..
6) etc etc etc but keep writing mridu is right
...saby
Hi Das,
thanks for reading and even more, thanks for taking time and commenting. I appreciate.
The basic difference in opinion I think we have, is that you are expecting all good movies to have a climax and a sense of unpredictability. This surely is true for a normal fiction (be it a romantic or a thriller).
However for themes which are not fiction, this need not be true. It need not have a suspense or a twist. Case in points, classic like Romeo and Juliet, Devdas, Gandhi, JFK et al.
What makes these movies special is how the subject is treated.
ROCK ON, though does not quality to be a real life story, but is not a Fiction either. It might aswell be a real story. And stories like this do happen. (Prasson Joshi, Buran Irani all are examples of similar real life stories. Who knows, maybe one day your life also becomes one such story).
The beauty of ROCK ON is not why Farhan sang or did not and what reasons he gives for the same.
The beauty lies in how the script has been handled. How the characters have been build. How the characters have a real feel. How characters change and display .... the human behavior. And in doing all this, the audience ends up relating to the characters and feeling for them and like them.
I think that is the real test of a director. And that is what Abhishek Kapoor has successfully done.
Finally about the music. I agree that Farhan should not have sung.
However the music is very nice to listen. It is popular and is selling too.
Full marks to Shankar Ehsaan and Loy, who not because of Farhan's singing, but inspite of Farhan's singing have made the music succeed.
I would recommend you to forgive Farhan for a while, for trying to sing and see the esthetic beauty of the movie.
Cheers!
Mats
Post a Comment