Rock on rocks
Sep 1st, 2008 by Ashok
I really liked this movie. It’s not what I expected. For one thing, it’s a movie about failure, which is rare. For another, it actually works, doesn’t spiral entirely into despair (though it comes close enough to be genuine) and still manages to climb out of the self-pity trap of its characters and raise a fist in triumph. What I like about it, is that it doesn’t hold up the typical American qualities of fame, fortune and possessions as emblematic of success; it’s about inner success.
The songs could have been better. Javed Akhtar can over-do the ’simple is best’ approach to lyric-writing at times–hell, he over-does it all the time! I could think of a dozen recent Hindi film soundtracks which had more rocking songs than Rock On. Pritam’s brilliant “Baatein, kuch ankahee si…” and “Alvida” for Life in a Metro, for example. Almost every track in Bas Ek Pal. So many others. Rock on’s songs sound just right in the film, but not great. There isn’t a real great one in the mix, and that’s a sad missed opportunity.
But that’s also a reminder that this film really isn’t about music, or rock music. It’s about the people, about finding themselves, about success and failure, about friendship, love, marriage, and all that beautiful jazz within.
The cast is all great, but Farhan Akhtar and Purab Kohli steal the show. Everybody else rocks, and for once, Arjun Rampal is perfectly cast for his burned-out, dead-eyed, has-been natural vibe, although, to be fair, he’s a pretty good actor too.
Rock on is a film in the same spirit as Farhan Akhtar’s own seminal Dil Chahta Hai. Although, of course, DCH was a classic, IMO. Rock On isn’t quite that great. But it isn’t a Jhankar Beats either. This is a mature film about real people, and I enjoyed that much about it hugely.
