Rock On!! (2008)

Excellent but underrated film

Absolutely Fantastic

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

I'm surprised to see that so many people liked this movie. For me it had bad direction, bad acting, bad songs all bundled together in 2 and a half hours. The main character played by Farhan Akhtar was one of the worst performances by a lead actor. He is better off sticking to direction only. The rest of the cast's performance was no better except a couple. But overall the movie was just dull and boring. Had a hard time keeping awake. Its not even one of those bad movies which you can enjoy by making fun of the scenes and characters. If you have difficulty going to sleep, keep its DVD/cassette handy for bed time viewing. Still wondering if I saw the same movie which others liked so much.

When the promos of this movie hit the screens,I thought it would just be another bollywood movie,and for many it maybe.But for those who identify themselves with the characters,it's a lot more.A big thumbs up for Abhishek Kapoor for pulling out a decent story,a story about a group of musicians trying to form a Rock band,and making it well at the end. Farhan Akhtar has made it big with his acting though his voice wasn't that good.Arjun as usual does enough justice to his character,though was too sober while playing a rocking guitar!Shahana Goswami has given herself a neat push,and so have Purab Kohli as KD and Luke Kenny as Rob. The greatest thing about this movie is that it shows how people are easily forced to give up their dreams and move forward with life,suppressing their creativity,and thus,getting lost in the crowd.As mentioned before,many would be able to identify themselves with the situations and characters in the movie. As the last song calls out, to such people to live their dreams and even if the future road is not guaranteed,even if people discourage,and no matter how hard the path is,believe in yourself and follow your dreams. For only then you are living 'your' life. The great sailor Sinbad was on such guy. A must watch for right braineans who dream to make it big.

My name isn't inspired by the movie..its an album title. I have seen better films but this one has a charm all its own..even though, the plot is the same as Dil Chahta Hai in a parallel "rock" universe...even though most of the "rock" lyrics were lame...even though the characters were not convincing at all, I enjoyed this movie thoroughly. I wonder why but i actually loved the movie. And that is because I loved the music which continues to surprise me every time i listen to it. I'll write this review from a music perspective since the story and execution itself was nothing new. The first time the trailers showed up, it was exciting to expect something other than Bolly-Dance+romantic-wood music. I first heard the title track and it was real catchy and the other slow number "Ye Tumhari Baatein". Now this song sounded suspicious. It has nothing to do with this genre of music. But then after I watched this movie, it struck me, this is Prachi's song. Prachi, who knows only old Hindi songs. So maybe thats why this song was a little mellow. But the Title track was fun....every time it came on the radio, elders in the car would try to change the channel. To watch the disgust on their face when i turned it back on was fun. But even i have to admit, the lyrics are the most lame here "Ji Karta Hai TV tower Pe main Chad Jauu?"..Sorry, Javed Sir, writing a rock song is different. It has to be raw but not weak. I felt stupid singing the verses but the chorus was slightly better. But then, I watched the movie with friends which started with "Socha Hai". A straight start before any storyline or whatever, immediately sending you the message that this is going to be a fun movie. But then again even though Sh-Eh-Loy has given great music here too, the lyrics sounded like it should have been a song for Tare Zameen par or whatever. "Asmaan hai Neela Neela, Paani Geela Geela, Dekho Dekho, Kya Wo Ped Hai" this rock song is actually trying to inspire people to think. Sounds like a teacher trying to teach science class. But then, enough complaining. The story rolls on to show their friendship and how they want to play for a Big Gig. They need money, so they play "Dandia rock". The title track plays on and they are having fun trying to run through the whole rock star clichés. Not bad, when you think, you haven't seen anything like this in Bollywood movies. But then the Live Gig competition arrives and we are all left wondering how is their song going to sound like because we already know that MAGIK is going to win the show. So, it should be one helluva song. Their act is preceded by another band with a song named "Zehreeley", the heaviest in the OST. But behold, MAGIK plays "Pichele Saat" and though it was light as a feather, it was actually fun. How MAGIK won the competition with this song was convincing due to the band-audience interaction. How the vocalist made sure everyone was enjoying with him. I thought this song was OK but when i heard it in the album/studio version, I was very pleasantly surprised at the groove. THE BEST ROCK song in the OST. The lyrics here is slightly better. Javed Sir even name-checks "Mary Jane"(Marewannah!) which gives it a rock n roll feel. But then he could have done it better. Now they were some music and songs not on the OST. I would like to look up those songs. Meanwhile the "Ajeeb Dastaan" song was beautifully sung and shot. "Tum ho Toh" sang by Joseph Mascarenhas unplugged was a better version than Aditya Shroff's one. The story is meanwhile dragging on about how the band broke up due to personal opinions. What is unconvincing is how their friendships ends too..The music executives are exaggerated. Farhan is sleepwalking through his role. Arjun is a helpless musician in a money minded world. Purab..I don't know what was Purab doing...apart from his stage name KD- killer drummer, he had nothing exciting in his role except for watching Arjun and Farhan fight and make up. Luke gets sick as there was no solid reason to re-unite MAGIK. Only when he says he wants to play together one last time does everyone get serious. For the ending they had to present music that would be the ultimate experience. Hence "Sinbad". Now the lyrics here are good and actually makes sense about living your dream which leads to the music pulling in Joe to the concert. He somehow manages to reach the concert almost at the song end fighting the Indian traffic and potholes. And then MAGIK created MAGIK. Luke dies, Purab gets girl and opens a company with Arjun who is economically better now. And Farhan, he lives out our dreams of being a rock star and a rich man at the same time. Something which is ahem quite unattainable in our rocking country. In here comes "phir dekhiye", the second best song in the album. All in all, the music was fantastic and that was the only reason I sat there in the theater.

The quality of Bollywood movies has drastically improved in recent times. Just a couple of weeks ago I was compelled to write about "Mumbai Meri Jaan", because it is one of the best movies I have seen this year… and I guess that's not all for this year! Last week we saw "Rock On!!" and again I am at my laptop typing a few lines on it.I hate to give out details about the movie in my short reviews and so I am going to stick to it. Anybody with half a brain would say that this is a movie about a "Rock Band"! Well… now if you ask someone with a "full"one he might say it's not a movie about Rock and Roll at all… it's actually a movie about "perusing your dreams"… or maybe about "true friendship" or "marital relationship" or even "dealing with difficult a situation and accepting the phases of life".The most important and impressive part of the movie was the débutant actor "Farhan Akhtar". Yes! Not only can this dude act but he has sung all his own songs too!! I am no authority on singing or music but let me tell you this guy sounds pretty good. To play a lead singer in a rock band he has worked-out and flashes his chiseled 6-pack a couple of times in the movie... I am sure that took tremendous motivation and commitment to the role. He has set the bar so high with his first film as an actor that I am sure all the Khans ruling the industry must be hiding right now.Arjun Ram plays a character that is very quite and sort of dim-witted. He pulls off the character so well, I didn't know if he was acting or just being himself! Ouch! I'm sorry I know that was under the belt… but that's what I felt about Arjun "Rampant" until I saw this movie. Prachi Desai, Lenny Luke and Purab Kohli, all act really well and make this movie a memorable one. I think one of the best scenes in the movie is when the band (who's in dire straits) is forced to play at a Dandiya Raas to make some quick bucks. Abhisekh Kapoor proves himself as a worthy director… must be a tough gig trying to direct someone like Farhan Akhtar.Watch this movie to get nostalgic about college days, rock shows, old friends or even if you enjoy good music. But see it for Farhan who is a decent singer and great actor and we already know a phenomenal director. Is there anything he can't do? I doubt it. I have just 2 words for him, "ROCK ON!!"