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''Rock On!!'' is a 2008 Indian
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...
-language
musical Musical is the adjective of music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
written and directed by
Abhishek Kapoor Abhishek Kapoor (born 6 August 1971) is an Indian film director and producer who works in Hindi cinema. Career He started his career as an actor in 1996 with movies ''Aashique Mastane'', opposite '' Monica Bedi'', directed by ''Ajay Kashyap'' ...
, produced by
Farhan Akhtar Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, playback singer, producer, and television host who works in Hindi films. Born in Mumbai to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he grew up under the influ ...
, and with music by
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy () is an Indian musical trio consisting of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa. They have composed music for over 50 soundtracks across five languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and English. Amongs ...
. The film marks the successful Bollywood debut of Akhtar and Prachi Desai. Akhtar,
Arjun Rampal Arjun Rampal (born 26 November 1972) is an Indian actor, model, film producer and television personality who works in Hindi films. He made his acting debut in Rajiv Rai's romance film '' Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' (2001) and has since gone on t ...
, Luke Kenny, and Purab Kohli star as members of the
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...
-based grunge rock band, "Magik" (formed in 1998) who reunite in 2008. The winner of seven
Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...
s, ''Rock On!!'' was critically acclaimed but had an average performance at the box office. Inspired by the critically acclaimed South Korean movie 'A Happy Life'. The film was archived at the
Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of m ...
library. The direct
sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the sam ...
, '' Rock On!! 2'', was released eight years later in 2016, but to negative reviews.


Plot

''Rock On!!'' begins in
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...
, with the rock band Magik, in 1998. The band are best friends and enjoy a carefree, freewheeling life together. Aditya Shroff (
Farhan Akhtar Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, playback singer, producer, and television host who works in Hindi films. Born in Mumbai to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he grew up under the influ ...
) is the lead singer who rebelled against his well-to-do family to play music. Joseph (Joe) Mascarenhas (
Arjun Rampal Arjun Rampal (born 26 November 1972) is an Indian actor, model, film producer and television personality who works in Hindi films. He made his acting debut in Rajiv Rai's romance film '' Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' (2001) and has since gone on t ...
) is the lead guitarist who feels the necessity to prove his worth as a musician. Keyboardist Rob Nancy ( Luke Kenny) and drummer Kedar Zaveri (a.k.a. KD/"Killer Drummer" ( Purab Kohli) comprise the remainder of the band. After a competition is announced by
Channel V Channel '' ("V" standing for the letter, not the Roman numeral "5") is a Chinese and former Asian pay television musical network originally launched by Star TV Hong Kong (now Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific). It was part of the unit of Dis ...
, they decide to enter, as the winner will be offered an album contract and at least one music video. Magik win the competition, but soon realise they will have to go through some sacrifices while signing the contract. Joe feels the most slighted when a song he wrote for his girlfriend, Debbie ( Shahana Goswami), which was the only slow track on the entire album, is excluded from the track list to make space for a remix song. Debbie is also rejected as the band's stylist without even being called for any demonstration. Later, when filming the music video, the band are forced to wear clothes they do not like, and the cameramen focus only on Aditya. Joe becomes furious at Aditya and the director, hitting them both before leaving with Debbie. Aditya, who failed to notice that anything was amiss, is shocked and as the band loses their contract, he reacts by abandoning music as well his girlfriend Tania ( Nicolette Bird). "Magik" thus disbands and its members become estranged. Ten years later, Aditya is a wealthy, high-powered investment banker with a beautiful wife, Sakshi ( Prachi Desai), and a luxury home, yet he is constantly unhappy. Hoping to relieve his habitual sullen mood, Sakshi decides to gift him a gold-chain wrist watch for his birthday. She meets her friend Devika (
Koel Purie Koel Purie Rinchet (born 25 November 1978) is an Indian actress, producer and TV presenter. About She made her debut with Rahul Bose's directorial venture '' Everybody Says I'm Fine!'' in 2001 and later featured in ''Road to Ladakh'' starri ...
) at a jewellery shop, which by chance is owned by KD's father and where KD himself is working, albeit unenthusiastically. He overhears Sakshi talking about Aditya and introduces himself. Sakshi later conveys the meeting to Aditya who denies having ever known anyone called KD. Soon afterwards, while Aditya is away on a business trip, Sakshi finds a box containing old photos and videos of Magik. She takes them to show KD and asks him come to a birthday party she is planning for Aditya, and to invite the rest of the band. KD meets with Rob, who now makes a living composing
jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...
s for advertisements. Together, they invite Joe, who is now married to Debbie but lives largely unemployed, with an eight-year-old son. The family is supported by Debbie, who has a small fishing business but who also holds a grudge against the band for the way it affected Joe. Joe feels he should reconcile with his old friends, but Debbie sees this as his weakness. KD and Rob thus attend the party without Joe, and Aditya is shocked to see them. He later scolds Sakshi for trying to dig up his past, which he claims to have left behind. Sakshi is hurt, and she leaves him after informing him that she is pregnant. Devika persuades Aditya to face his past and meet with his ex-bandmates. KD, Joe, and Rob meet up and visit the place where they used to practice as a band. Aditya also arrives and reconciles with Joe and the rest. They start practicing regularly at Aditya's house. Learning about this, Sakshi, too, returns to Aditya. Channel V announces another contest, and at Rob's insistence, the band enters. Meanwhile, Debbie arranges a guitar-playing job for Joe on a cruise ship, which is due to set sail on the same day as the contest. It is later discovered that Rob is dying of a brain tumour and his last wish is to perform with Magik. The contest is aired on the radio, and while Joe is on his way to the airport, he hears Magik perform the song he wrote for Debbie ten years earlier, which they dedicate to him. This prompts him to join the band at the competition, where he and Aditya sing a duet in a triumphant performance. The epilogue reveals that Rob died two months after that performance. Sakshi gives birth to a baby boy, whom they name "Rob" in memory of their friend. Devika is dating KD, who starts a record company with Joe. Debbie quits her job in the fishing business and becomes a successful stylist. The band members and their families meet every weekend to keep the band's "Magik" alive forever.


Cast

*
Arjun Rampal Arjun Rampal (born 26 November 1972) is an Indian actor, model, film producer and television personality who works in Hindi films. He made his acting debut in Rajiv Rai's romance film '' Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' (2001) and has since gone on t ...
as Joseph Mascarenhas (Joe) *
Farhan Akhtar Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, playback singer, producer, and television host who works in Hindi films. Born in Mumbai to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he grew up under the influ ...
as Aditya Shroff (Adi) * Purab Kohli as Kedar Zaveri / Killer Drummer "KD" * Luke Kenny as Rob Nancy * Prachi Desai as Sakshi Shroff, wife of Aditya Shroff * Shahana Goswami as Debbie Mascarenhas *
Koel Purie Koel Purie Rinchet (born 25 November 1978) is an Indian actress, producer and TV presenter. About She made her debut with Rahul Bose's directorial venture '' Everybody Says I'm Fine!'' in 2001 and later featured in ''Road to Ladakh'' starri ...
as Devika *
Dalip Tahil Dalip Tahil (born as Dalip Tahilramani; 30 October 1952) is an Indian film, television and theatre actor. He studied at Sherwood College in Nainital, India. After attending Aligarh Muslim University for a year, he graduated from St. Xavier's ...
as Bajaj * Suraj Jagan as Ajay *
Monica Dogra Monica Dogra is an American musician and actress. She has acted in six feature films, as well as released five studio albums with the band Shaa’ir and func. She is a member on the judging panel of India's first English music talent show, ''The ...
as herself (Shaair) * Nicolette Bird as Tanya *
Anu Malik Anwar Sardar "Anu" Malik (born 2 November 1960) is an Indian music composer, singer, music arranger and score composer. He is an Indian National Award and Filmfare Award winning musician, who primarily composes music for the Hindi film in ...
as himself * Jameel Khan as Tolani * Jonathan Horovitz as Travel Writer


Response


Box office

Despite critical acclaim, the film grossed only 27.46 crore ($4.1 million) in India;
Box Office India Box Office India is an Indian film website. Its traffic ranking in India is 83,665 . A new Box Office India website went live on 20 January 2014. About Box Office India was launched on 10 June 2003. Its uses Whois privacy to anonymize its ...
labeled it as an "average grosser". It earned on its opening day in India.


Critical reception

''Rock On'' was well received by a number of critics. Subhash K. Jha gave ''Rock On'' a rave review. He states: "Seldom has a film blended the music of life into the fabric of a film with such seamless expertise. ''Rock On!!'' is that rarity where every component character and episode falls into place with fluent virility."
Nikhat Kazmi Nikhat Kazmi ( hi, निखत काजमी; 1958/59 – 20 January 2012) was a senior correspondent and well-known film critic from, born Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, who had been writing for ''The Times of India'' since 1987. She died of breast ...
of the ''
Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'' gave it four stars and argued, "if you really want to see how Bollywood has matured and come of age, then here's the perfect litmus test. For ''Rock On'' is a film that not only breaks new ground in terms of its subject matter – now when has desi movielore ever tackled something akin to Hollywood's ''
That Thing You Do ''That'' is an English language word used for several grammatical purposes. These include use as an adjective, conjunction, pronoun, adverb, and intensifier; it has distance from the speaker, as opposed to words like ''this''. The word did not ori ...
'' — it creates a whole new EQ (emotional quotient) for mainstream cinema."
Khalid Mohamed Khalid Mohamed is an Indian journalist, editing, editor, Film criticism, film critic, screenwriter and film director. He formerly worked for the ''Hindustan Times'' and was the lead editor for ''Filmfare'' magazine. He is the son of Bollywoo ...
, of the ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...
'' gave the film three and a half out of four stars and describes it as "hard candy." He also states that "the performances are of the highest order". Manish Gajjar of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
gave ''Rock On!!'' four out of five stars and describes it as "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!"
Taran Adarsh Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media. Career Taran Adarsh started his journalism career at the age of 15 with ''Trade Gui ...
of
Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provide ...
gave ''Rock On!!'' four out of five stars and states: "Put your hands together for one of the finest films of our times. Put your hands together for a director who pulls off a challenging subject with élan. Put your hands together for the actors who pitch in superlative performances." Kaveree Bamzai of ''
India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new on ...
'' called ''Rock On'' "refreshing" and "surprisingly quiet and thoughtful." Other critics gave the film mixed reviews.
Rajeev Masand Rajeev Masand is an Indian film critic and journalist. He has worked for Noida based English language news channel CNN-Indian Broadcasting Network (CNN-IBN). He usually reviews Bollywood films and major Hollywood films released in India in hi ...
of
CNN-IBN CNN-News18 (originally CNN-IBN) is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Raghav Bahl based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is currently co-owned by Network18 Group and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN provides interna ...
gave the film three out of five stars and states: "With ''Rock On'', director Abhishek Kapoor promises a true-blue band film, but ultimately delivers a masala Hindi film that just happens to be about a band ..Yet, ''Rock On'' is rescued by some marvelous moments that stay with you until the end."


Soundtrack

The original score and songs were composed by
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy () is an Indian musical trio consisting of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa. They have composed music for over 50 soundtracks across five languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and English. Amongs ...
. The songs' lyrics were written by
Javed Akhtar Javed Akhtar (born 17 January 1945) is an Indian poet, lyricist, screenwriter and political activist. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2 ...
. According to the Indian trade website
Box Office India Box Office India is an Indian film website. Its traffic ranking in India is 83,665 . A new Box Office India website went live on 20 January 2014. About Box Office India was launched on 10 June 2003. Its uses Whois privacy to anonymize its ...
, with around 12,00,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's thirteenth highest-selling.


Accolades


Sequel

A sequel to the film, ''Rock On 2'', was released on 11 November 2016. Akhtar, Rampal, Kohli, Desai and Goswami reprise their roles from the first film.


Notes


References


External links

* {{Ritesh Sidhwani 2008 films 2000s Hindi-language films 2000s buddy films 2000s musical drama films Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor National Film Award-winning performance Films set in Mumbai Indian buddy films Indian musical drama films Indian rock music films Best Hindi Feature Film National Film Award winners Films directed by Abhishek Kapoor 2008 drama films