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Rock On!! – movie review

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Rock On!!, movie review

Rock On!! is the story of 4 friends who want put together the greatest band this country has ever seen. They are in their early twenties, wild and carefree, and their main focus in life is about music and friendship. Aditya Shroff (Farhan Akhtar), Joe Mascarenhas (Arjun Rampal), Rob (Luke Kenny) and K.D.(Purab Kohli) together create the rock band ‘Magik’. The film is about friendship and the passion for music.

This group takes part on a competition for Indian Rock Bands where the winner will be offered a contract for an album and at least one music video. These guys need money for new instruments. What not they have to do to earn the money, even at times by playing old Hindi songs at random Dandiya parties! Their reluctance and helplessness is beautifully captured in close-ups.

They win the competition, and while signing the contract, are forced to make a number of compromises. Now begins their downfall, and they do not succeed to take off. Life becomes a burden to them. Somewhere they are drawn apart into different fields and never make it.

Fate has different plans for them, so ten years later they come together again and continue their journey for the dream they had left years back. It sets them on a journey back to where they left off… a soul-searching into their past.

They try and revive their group Magik. A gap of ten years behind them, it is the course from being an underdog to the top of the table. This effort involves a lot of introspection and self discovery, which brings a change in them.

It is rare to find out someone who gets to do what they do – passionately, and still be successful. There are others, who loose sight of their responsible tasks and persist, deeply engrossed in their passionate work. Such persons often neglect their family responsibilities. This is all what Rock On!! is about.

The producer wanted to give his film realistic characters and therefore the actors underwent personalized training to depict them as real band members. Purab Kohli with drums, Arjun Rampal with guitar, Luke Kenny with Keyboard and Farhan trained with Shankar Ehsaan for vocals and rhythm guitar.

In the end of Rock On!!, through a short epilogue, it is revealed that everyone the boys and their wives have achieved what they desired. Except for Rob who died two months after their final performance, the three band meet at least once a week. A little fairy tale-ish isn’t it?
Farhan Akhtar and Prachi Desai make an imposing debut, while Arjun Rampal comes out with one of his finest performances till date. He is well supported by Luke Kenny and Purab Kohli, Koel Purie, Shahana Goswami and Nicolette Bird. This nostalgic journey is well written and remarkably directed by Abhishek Kapoor.

Rock On!! is feel-good in the best sense of the word. It is for those who dare to dream. Enjoy it with your family and friends!

CAST of Rock On!!:
Farhan Akhtar: Aditya Shroff, Lead Singer
Prachi Desai: Sakshi, Aditya’s wife
Arjun Rampal: Joe Mascarenhas, Lead Guitarist
Purab Kolhi: KD ‘Killer Drummer’
Luke Kenny: Rob, Keyboardist
Koel Purie: Devika, Sakshi’s friend
Shabana Goswami: Debbie, Joe’s wife
Nicholette Bird: Tanya, Aditya’s ex-girlfriend

Credits of Rock On!!
Directed by: Abhishek Kapoor
Produced by: Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar
Director of Photography: Jason West
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Music: Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Executive Producer: Miriam Joseph

CREDITS of Rock On!!:
Production Design: Shashank Tere
Screenplay: Abhishek Kapoor, Pubali Chaudhuri
Story: Abhishek Kapoor
Dialogues: Farhan Akhtar
Sound Design: Baylon Fonseca
Editor: Deepa Bhatia
Publicity Design: Himanshu Nanda, Rahul Nanda
Stills: Abheet Gidwani
Costume Design: Niharika Khan
Make-up: Shabana Latif
Hair: Shefali Shetty (b-blunt)
Chereography: Remo
Promos: Trigger Happy
Casting: Nandini Shrikent
Second Unit Directors /Assistant Directors:
Shakun Batra, Nikhil Deshpande, Varun Lalwani, Himanshu Powdwal
Sound Department
Amit Ahire – Foley Recordist
Manik Batra – Sound Effects Editor
Baylon Fonseca – Sound Designer
Jay Peck – Foley Artist
Vinod Subramanian – Production Sound Mixer
Anand Kumar Ekbote – Camera Focus Puller
Rashid Jam – Grip
Sanjay Sami – Key Grip
Digital Film Colourist – Paul A. Byrne
Visual Effects Digital Compositors –
Devrishi Chatterjee, Sarang Deshpande, Avinash Gupta, Ilamuruguselvan, Pankaj Kalbende, Rahul Kallankandy, Kumaran, Anup Kumar, Vinod Mannem, Arun Mendon, Sanjiv Naik, Ranen Nongmaithem, Neil Sadwelkar, Naveen Shukla, Gaurvendra Singh, Balakrishna P. Subaiah, Ashok Uchil
Rock On!!, movie review