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Film Review: Rock On 2

Date: November 11 2016

Director: Shujaat Saudagar

Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Shraddha Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Purab Kohli, Shashank Arora

Rating: 3 stars

In the year 2008 Excel produced Rock On that had the country jiving to Shankar Ehsan Loy’s music.  It told the story of four likeminded friends Joe – Adi – Rob and KD who come together to form their own band and create magic! Then like it happens in all relationships, conflict led to separation of friends until Adi’s wife brings them together again. There is some resistance and awkward moments but not for long.

Eight years later Rock On 2 brings back some old and some new characters. A few years older and wiser Joe/ Arjun Rampal, wife/ Shahana Goswami, Adi/ Farhan Akhtar, wife/ Prachi Desai and KD/ Purab Kohli are still friends and as passionate about music but have different callings.

Now guitarist Joe is the owner of a prosperous music company often spotted as celebrity host on reality shows, KD is still a practicing music engineer and Adi, the lead singer of Magik Band has retired to a life of farming in Meghalaya.

Rock On was about conflict in friendship and also about struggle for success, Rock On 2 addresses demons from the past, about coping with stardom that comes after success.

Both have music from Shankar Ehsaan Loy and are written by Pubali Chaudhari and Abhishek Kapoor but the impact is not the same.

The sequel has too many past and present stories scattered within the narrative. It is unconvincing that Farhan Akhtar should live away from the family in a remote place. The fire at Meghalaya is exaggerated and also the emotional involvement of Adi’s friends in the crisis. The first half is bombarded with information, is too slow and too grim. The film is about music and the first song appears only 30 after minutes.

What works about the film is the second half, the climax and the performances – Farhan, Shradha , Arjun, Purab, Shashank and a special mention of new face Priyanshu Painyuli who stays with you long after the film is over.

Rock On 2 will try your patience initially but you will eventually come out of the theater smiling.

Bhawanaa Somaaya/ @bhawanasomaaya

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There is one more chip of the old bloc and that is Hiten Paintal, son of versatile actor Paintal. Hiten plays Psycho in his upcoming film. 30 Minutes is a short film with mostly newcomers and playback by a number of big artistes like Asha Bhosle, Shaan and Kunal Ganjawala. Not that it is going to be easy for Paintal or any of his young generation in show business but they are lucky that they will continue to be starred in short films till the big magic happens.

@bhawanasomaaya

My previous posts can be visited on the following link:

http://bhawanasomaaya.blogspot.in

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Mouni Roy, the tellywood hottie, is all set to sizzle on the big screen. Mouni will be seen in a special song in the upcoming film, Tum Bin 2.

The famous Punjabi folk number, ‘Nachna Aunda Nahin’ will be crooned by Hardy Sandhu, Neha Kakkar and Raftaar, while Remo D’souza has been roped in to choreograph the song.

Mouni is to feature in the dance with the lead of Tum Bin 2 namely Neha Sharma, Aditya Seal and Aashim Gulati.

Tum Bin 2 is jointly produced by Bhushan Kumar and Anubhav Sinha.

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My previous posts can be visited on the following link:

http://bhawanasomaaya.blogspot.in

Ventilator

Film: Ventilator (Marathi)

Producer: Priyanka & Madhu Chopra
Writer/Director: Rajesh Mapuskar

Cast: Ashutosh Gowariker,Jitendra Joshi, Sulbha Arya, Sukanya Kulkarni-Mone,
Viju Khote, Boman Irani

Stars: 4

Large families come together mostly during weddings and funerals. For Kamerkar family, the get together is always the Ganpati festival celebrated with aplomb at the ancestral home. The festival is just three days away and while everyone is rushing with preparation a phone call bursts the bubble.

An elderly uncle in the family, Gajju kaka is in coma and put on life support – the ventilator. Chaos ensues as relatives from the coastal village arrive in the city and park in the hospital lobby and some more are expected from abroad too.

It is not an unusual plot in the sense we have watched films where families resolve conflicts in crisis. Set inside a hospital where the waiting area and the corridors become reasons for volatile outbursts and reconciliation, the director travels you through tattered, fragile relationships, daring to untangle stubborn knots.

All intimate relationships are vulnerable and the film addresses anguish accumulated over years of unexpressed communication.

The best thing about the film is the splendid writing. Simple, sincere and effective, there is not a false chord in the narrative and you laugh and cry with the characters without even being aware of it.

On the downslide the big Indian family is of course exaggerated. They monopolize the hospital lobby and are never thrown out. The frenzy of the festival diligently established in the opening credits (the best one has ever seen) is sorely missed after the story shifts to the hospital.

All the performances are praiseworthy and special mention must be made by Hindi actors (Priyanka Chopra, Boman Irani) to speak in Marathi.

The elephant God in the film teaches a few valuable lessons to the Karmekar family.

The Ventilator can prove a life transforming experience for your family.

@bhawanasomaaya

My previous posts can be visited on the following link:

http://bhawanasomaaya.blogspot.in