Rock ahead! – Movie review
Imagine there is no office to go to. Imagine there is no family to feed. Imagine that you have a second chance. Imagine living your dream. Whoo-hoo! You may say I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one.
Director Abhishek Kapoor, a man who flopped the first time with Aryan, along with producers Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, have envisioned such a world. A world where ‘you’ comes before ‘them’ and ‘I’ comes before ‘us’. A world where you have to reach to rock.
Rock ahead! comes seven years after Dil Chahta Hai, Bolly’s only possible benchmark in terms of impact on the young urban mindscape, and in these last few years, the individual has taken over and Time magazine has declared “You” as the Person of the Year. In 2001, it was: Dil chahta hai/ Hum na rahein kabhi yaaron ke bin. In 2008, it is: Dil karta hai TV tower pe main chad jaoon/ Chilla chilla ke main yeh sabse keh doon/ Rock on…
The friends are fine, but Aditya, Joe, Rob and KD first have to fight their personal demons. Aditya (Farhan) may be tracking infrastructure actions, but he needs to pick up that mic again. Joe (Arjun) may be teaching the neighborhood kids guitar, but he must go back to playing at the arcade. Rob (Luke) may be sequencing the flute for Anu Malik, but he needs to get back on stage. KD (Purab) may be helping his dad at his store, but he needs to get back to playing drums. Together, Magik must rock… again.
In a continuous back and forth script (Abhishek and Pubali Chaudhuri) we see the then and now of Magik separated by 10 years. Then the four of them were a hot rock band, which came very close to recording an album. Now the four go about their day to day trying in vain to forget the long hair, the goatee and the guitar. Pictures of the band taken at an empty swimming pool perhaps hidden in some warehouse and the group’s jeep perhaps hidden under a dusty tarp, but the music and lyrics in their blood make their “committed” lives unlivable.
This is where Rock On! dare to dream There may be a filmmaker in me, a writer in you, and a painter in him, but we choose to sweep those aspirations under the rug in the name of commitment. Kaun nahin karta, ask Aditya. He doesn’t and using the magical metaphor of music, Magik inspires us to make that choice.
Having come up with a good story, Abhishek turns it into a great movie. There are moments so beautifully crafted that they seem straight out of life. Like the scene where Luke’s Rob returns to his favorite Iranian cafe and sits alone at a table, trying to turn back the clock. Or the scene where Aditya discovers that the new guitar wife that Sakshi (Prachi) has left for him on the table. Or the scene where Joe recalls those golden days with his guitar strumming and then shuts off the memories of Magik by simply closing the bedroom door he opens onto the balcony.
Rock ahead! couldn’t have been a better cast. Purab Kohli gets the funniest lines and makes the most of them. Luke Kenny, seen 10 years after Bombay Boys, is refreshing in his approach to every scene. Arjun Rampal is a revelation. Overdosing on Bollywood commercial trash, the handsome man lets loose and uses his physique to the fullest, both then and now.
Those skeptical of Farhan the actor, well, the man dominates the screen. Thanks to that piercing gauze. Something that works as a perfect complement to the absolute warmth that is Prachi Desai. It is a pleasure to see two newcomers, one an ace film director and the other a Balaji bahu, enact the best husband and wife feud seen in a long time.
But the best acting comes from Shahana Goswami (seen in a cameo in Naseeruddin Shah’s Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota); As Arjun’s wife, she gives a stunning performance of a woman trying to literally wash her hands of the past and get life back on track.
The men behind the scenes are Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy and Javed Akhtar, whose catchy score is the heart of the film. And for a 150-minute movie that ends with nearly 20 minutes of nonstop music, the team almost does a Lagaan here. A movie like Rock On! with all her stage shows it must have been very difficult to edit, but Deepa Bhatia’s (Taare Zameen Par) scissors work perfectly. British cinematographer Jason West brings music and melancholy to life in equal measure.
Rock ahead! It’s not just about slow-mo hugs between old friends… it’s about taking a bow, yourself. About telling the world that you’re around. About making life visit you again. As The Doors, the theme song to the best band movie to date, had sung: Well I’ve been down so long / That it seems to be up to me / Well I’ve been down so long / It seems to be up to me / Yeah , why don’t one of you / Come on and set me free…