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Reviews
Rock On!! (2008)
Not just a Rock Band movie!!
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!!"
Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008)
Movie of the year
Last weekend we saw the movie 'Mumbai Meri Jaan'. I think it may get all the awards for this year!! Best director for sure, storyline, and there will be a fight for the Best supporting title within the movie... I still can't decide if Paresh Rawal did well or Madhavan or Kay Kay Menon... Probably Paresh. Irrfan Khan finally has taken a different role than his usually 'monotonous monologue role' which sounds like a Vodafone commercial. This time he has chosen a role which will really challenge him. Soha Ali Khan is great... needless to say it runs in the family.
This is not a commercial masala film. No dream sequences, no item numbers. Shot more like a documentary but extremely gripping. The director Nishikant Kamath makes is Hindi-movie directorial debt and surpasses all standards and sets a new one. We should keep in mind though that he has won many national awards for this previous Marathi movie, 'Dombivili Fast'.
I don't want to tell you what the movie is about, besides the fact that its based on seven bomb blast that happened in Mumbai trains a couple of years ago. Shows you the ground reality and and its effects it has on people and their relatives... not a movie for a weak heart some scenes are really horrifying and morbid. Definitely a 'no-no' for kids. I guess it for grown ups... not just physically grown-up but also mentally evolved ones ;-) .
Shatters all our prejudices and preconceived notions that we have about life in general when a catastrophe happens. How we take everything for granted unless it happens to you. This movie will make a difference.... this is the only movie I have seen in an Indian theater where the whole crowd clapped at the of the movie and was silent during the end credits.
If you have no plans this weekend... go watch it. Worth every penny!! Siskel and Ebert would have given it 2 thumbs up. I give all my 10 fingers ;-))