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[dhruvdeepak]

 this was a heck of a movie. the storyline was alright, but i loved all their roles and the songs!
new ground in indian cinema anyways - havent heard one negative thing about it.

prachi was looking cute in many scenes

gotta love stories of comebacks!

[keep-it-cool]

Decent movie but i would stop short of calling it ground breaking

Take the rock band aspect out (which itself is peripheral) and it is a diluted version of Dil Chahta Hai

But, yes, the acting was good (except Arjun Ramphal) ... music was good ..and one never felt bored.

[keep-it-cool]

I agree with many parts of this review ...though I wouldnt skip the movie.

http://greatbong.net/2008/09/08/rock-on-the-review/

I am sorry. I know I am supposed to love “Rock On” considering how much it has been appreciated and adored by the hep and the happening crowd, if only to show how “with it” I am and to prove that my brain has not become “down market” after endless listenings of “Humra Hau Chahi“.

But somehow, and you can blame Guddu Rangeela for that, I just could not bring myself to have any kind of fondness for “Rock On”, particularly after all the hype about how good it was.

Maybe it was the genre that was the problem. “Rock On” is an unapologetic chick flick. For guys. Which makes it technically a “dick flick”. Which is why I  hoped it would have been called “Cock On” , if for nothing else than for the sake of truth in labeling.

But it wasn’t.

It also wasn’t very funny or ironic or witty, which I believe movies of this kind have to be in order to work. This isn’t Jhankar Beats and it definitely isn’t Dil Chahta Hain. It could have been something like “Oldschool” , a story about a bunch of mid 30s and early 40s trying to recapture the wildness of their college days. Which would have been worth watching.

But again that it isn’t.

So what is it?

It is a story of a very rich management-type person (played with a Pooja Bhatt lisp by Farhan Akthar) who has withdrawn within himself, speaks in short sentences and snaps at his wife. Why? Because, boo hoo, his rock band broke up ten years ago, a scarring fact that he, for some deep supposedly”senti” reason, hides from his loving spouse like one conceals a venereal disease picked up at a truck stop. When you are in your 20s, such withdrawn behavior is cool, rockstar-like and angsty. When you are in your 30s, the same perennially-pissed off behavior simply means you need more fiber in your dinner, and a glass of  sat Isabgol to go with the double malt whiskey.

It is also a story of his three estranged band members, his band of brothers —one of whom runs a diamond shop (old Channel V DJ Purab) , one of whom mopes around the house (Arjun Rampal) and one (Luke Kenny) who does one of the world’s most sought after jobs, just one desirability level below cleaning cages for monkey poo—a musical assistant to Anu Malik (I wonder how the Great Photocopier let the producers get away without rocking himself with a Malikian pentameter song, rhyming “Raining” with “Paining” with “Gaining” and the ending with “Ooohh yaaaa”)

And finally it is the story of how they all come together for one last hurrah where every cliche of the band movie is presented in its full glory —the tinge of tragedy, the last moment change-of-hearts and the awesomely happy, ridiculous everything-falls-perfectly-into-place ending.

To be fair, “Rock On” has its high notes, like when the band is forced to play “Sanson ki zaroorat hain jaise” rock istyle, but these are few and far in between.

The performances are decent without being spectacular. And the pace of the narrative–let me just say it made me a headbanger.

Out of frustration.

“Don’t download the music. Buy the CD” say the end credits.

To all you unhep guys like me, I say “Just buy the CD. Don’t bother with the movie”

[achutank]

nice movie saw it today

whats with farhan's obsession of paradise as goa with family and wine? remember the last scenes from DCH?

[LosingNow]

just saw it on DVD.. absolutely loved it.

Agree with DD, it is pathbreaking. It had a greater emphasis on character development rather than the screenplay. The characters looked and handled issues in a mature manner .. rather than the typical bollywood OTTness.

Songs were awesome.. lyrics absolutely wonderful - hats off to Javed Akhtar.

..and what can I say about Farhan, he has the right genes and is an amazing talent.

Sorry, I think the greatbong must have been in a pissed-off, fault-finding  mood.. this movie is not a chick flick .. and had strong performances (except for Rampal - he really needs to develop some expressions on his face). Such stories are always cliched.. but it is the characters and handling of their development that matters. 

I am buying the CD.

[dhruvdeepak]

nice movie saw it today

whats with farhan's obsession of paradise as goa with family and wine? remember the last scenes from DCH?

its a representation of his life...he enjoyed like that only, goa on the beach with drink in hand. DCH is his life story basically

[keep-it-cool]

What was so path breaking about it?

It was a good movie. But try watching it a second time (I did) and it bores you in a lot of places.

The CD is a keeper. The DVD isn't.

[broadbat]

The CD is a keeper. The DVD isn't.

Certainly not at Rs 400.

[Aloo Kashmiri Ul Haq]

the soundtrack of the movie is not great, dumb lyrics, greenhonkish way of playing the guitar, same kind of notes. blah! except "ye tumhari meri batein"