Director: Abhishek Kapoor
Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Prachi Desai, Arjun Rampal, Purab Kohli, Luke Kenny, Shahana Goswami & Koel Puri
Information: Contains moderate violence
Running time: 145mins
Release date: 29 August 2008 by Adlabs Films
Rating: 4/5
A soul-searching journey for four friends who put together a great rock band but failed to make it to the top. Lead singer Aditya (Farhan), now a gloomy, workaholic investment banker, has a beautiful wife Sakshi (Prachi) but no happiness.
Drummer of the group, KD (Purab) now works unenthusiastically at his father's jewellery business. Dejected guitarist Joe (Arjun) dreams all day long - while squabbling wife Debbie becomes the family bread winner. Laid back keyboard player, Rob (Luke), is the only one of the group still earning money from small music assignments.
Ten years on, Sakshi conspires to bring them all together when she discovers some old photographs of the band called Magik. With her help, all four characters now living different lives set out on a soul-searching journey back to where they left off. Demons from the past have to be conquered as they face new challenges.
Abhishek Kapoor deserves awards for his brilliant direction and story telling. Kapoor has definitely done his research and this shows on-screen, whether it is the camera shots or the musical score.
With a well-thought-out script and appropriately etched-out characters, he succeeds in extracting superb performances from the all cast!
Through a series of flashbacks, Kapoor cleverly depicts a gripping narrative. He focuses on their joyful lives 10 years earlier, giving us a sense of comparison with what they have now become without their beloved band, Magik.
Director-turned-actor, Farhan Aktar surprises all with his superb, flawless performance, transforming from a hippy-style lead-singer to a subdued, dismal workaholic banker.
Arjun Rampal is proving his acting prowess with every release and Rock On is no exception. His brilliant portrayal of Joe, who withdraws himself from the outside world due to failure, will have you in tears. His on-screen wife, Goswami, is equally awesome as the nagging wife who gradually realises the depressed state of her husband.
Television actress Prachi Desai makes a noticeable Bollywood debut as Aditya's wife, ready to forsake all for the happiness of her husband. This girl has a bundle of untapped acting talent still waiting to be tapped by directors.
On the whole Rock On is an enthralling watch, with entertaining moments to make you smile. Predicted to be a cult movie for many years to come, it truly deserves the Bollywood awards this year! A must-see whether you are a rock fan or not!
Reviewed by Manish Gajjar
BBC Shropshire Bollywood
