that I thought "Rock On" was a totally crappy film. I was so so bored with this boy fantasy of "Yo dude! Rock on, man!" Ugh ugh ugh ugh. Am I supposed to care about Farhan Akhtar screwing his life up in some multi-million dollar apartment? How am I supposed to care when the script is so bad? The turnaround between him screwing/not screwing his life up is about half a scene. And I'm also fed up of designer Bollywood masquerading as some kind of bearable cinema, just because it's so coool. Krakt me if I am wrong ji BUT haven't we seen everyone before, somewhere? Miserable investment baker who's boxed up his dreams, sweet loving loving wife, cool dude genius failed rocker, fishwife hussy wife, friend dying of BRAIN tumour, nerdy friend whom everyone likes etc etc and all of them with perhaps two good lines between them!
It bothers me that these flat uninteresting characters can be up on screen as acceptable. It bothers me that people can accept that this unsustainable "lifestyle" is the happy end., the dreamed-of end, with everyone swilling beer at some super-expensive resort because they're finally where-it's-at, which is, like, "Look at me! I'm rich! I'm beautiful! I'm successful! I'm silhouetted by the sea like the last scene in Philadelphia! My wife is happy because she's a fashion designer finally, thank god, and wearing white which shows off her lustrous rich lovely brown skin on which a makeup artist has slaved for many an hour! And we all love the children, the lovely lovely children in their frocks dancing around us cause we're musicians, and we're free and happy happy!"
The only interesting fella was Arjun Rampal because his sad eyes and laid-backness had something authentic to say about what failure feels like. The rest just acted it all. Not as bad as the scriptwriter who invented it all with little imagination. When that Channel V competition came up again, I began laughing. I thought it was a good joke - but it wasn't a joke! They took it all seriously all over again, rather than saying, fuck it man, bloody losers that lot at Channel V., let's just do our stuff this time shall we? Why doesn't Farhan-boy just bankroll the album? And how bad was the audience at the show? I thought that wave-thing went out years and years ago.
I noted with interest that Javed Akhtar said recently that he thought that Indian rock was a poor imitation of American whatever (as in the film). I read the article. Of course it was nothing other than a self-congratulatory thing on how good his lyrics were.
And this whole context-thing. Ok, let's forget that because Bollywood is all fantasy mostly, but oh hell, was I bored!!
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hey chamcham - while I agree with your post on the film for the most, I think there was something to be said about the relationship between arjun rampal's character and his wife. He was a very recognisable Bandra catholic figure, slumping around the suburb defeated with a wife who has no choice but to be practical and to be protective and thinking of him as well - trying to find something for him to do at least. So I'd give it some points for that - and the plenitude of male beauty on display ;)
But for the rest I totally agree with you - it was an embarrassingly bad script and this silly sort of male universe seems to offer up only some chicken soupy lessons.
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