From here on, Taufique Qureshi takes on the listener till the album’s end. ‘Mastaan Mastaan‘ is a track which arrives in both ‘modern’ and ‘folk’ version. The modern version has ‘Kvanaa-The Band’ collaborating with Taufique Qureshi to come up with a track which has clear Western influence to it even as the basic essence of the track carries a folk feel to it. Rendered by Ritesh Menon, ‘Mastaan Mastaan‘- just like all other numbers in the album are expected to be – adds on to the background score for the film.

This one is a decent hear and sounds much better than the hardcore folk version which comes next. Sung by Gulzar Ganai with lyrics by Lt. Poet Mr. Fazil Kashmiri, the folk version of ‘Mastaan Mastaan‘ appears to be either an old recording or there has been a deliberate attempt to make it sound like one in order to keep the folkish feel intact. In fact Gulzar Ganai later returns with ‘Ha Faqeero‘ which has lyrics by poet A.G. Madhosh. Yet again, it is the old recording feel out here as well and even as one can’t really make out the lyrics due to them being quite rooted, one looks forward to how the song has been placed in the film.

The sound which kick starts Chakhri Modern is the one that is just the same as heard in ‘Sajna Ji Vaari Vaari‘ from Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. and a little earlier in ‘Bhumbhro‘ from Mission Kashmir. Clearly inspired from the folk music (yet again), this track turns out to be as good as ‘Jee Lo‘ due to it’s peppy and lively feel. Sung quite well by Sumedha Karmahe, ‘Chakhri‘ too has been made to sound quite modern in feel, as justified by the song’s title, and comes close to A.R. Rahman’s ‘Kuch Bhi Na Socha‘ from Bombay, in it’s spirit and styling.

Remainder of the album is all about the background pieces which range from 50 seconds to at maximum 2 minutes. Rooted ‘Tahaan Victory – Theme‘ has a feeling of euphoria, ‘Tahaan – The Beginning‘ is haunting with snow peaked mountains seemingly right in front of a listener, ‘Agony‘ has a violin occupying the center stage, ‘The Missing‘ is engaging while also coming close to being scary, ‘Hope‘ is serene, just like the mood of the situation, ‘Storytelling‘ almost child-like and hence not straying away from the film’s theme, ‘Shaft Of Light‘ so seamless that one doesn’t feel any transition from ‘Storytelling’, ‘Kashmiri Pundits‘ and ‘Dilemma‘ so silent that they are hardly audible, ‘Idrees’s Rebel – Theme‘ coming with a cry and finally a really slow ‘Tahaan – Theme‘.

In fact it is surprising that the makers indeed thought of coming with an album for a film like Tahaan which could incorporate a few songs only for situational purposes. Again, it is highly improbable that any of the songs would feature in entirety in the film. This leaves only the background pieces which are again meant to aid the narration than entice a listener to play it on the move. This is why one can be sure that even the makers of Tahaan would know that theirs is not a soundtrack which results in chartbuster sales. 

MUNNABHAI M.B.B.S. started a trend of sorts. Gangsters with a heart of gold acting as modern-day Robinhoods. Robbing the notorious rich and helping the oppressed poor.

Writer turned debutante director Sachin Yardi borrows a leaf from MUNNABHAI M.B.B.S. and presents a tale that not only talks of Robinhoods, but also makes a scathing attack at news reporting hitting an all-time low [anything for TRPs], makes digs at Ekta Kapoor and her serials, also looks at the underworld-builder-cops nexus.

The story of three losers attaining power overnight makes for interesting viewing. But the problem is, C KKOMPANY lacks consistency. The comedy is truly hilarious at places, but there’re times when you sit motionless, not reacting to the on-screen antics. If the first hour is a joyous ride, the second hour is akin to driving on a road full of potholes. The climax is also a letdown [in the mela], although the end sequence — C KKOMPANY is now a movement — was the right way to conclude the film.
All said, C KKOMPANY had the germs of being a cool entertainer, but it ends up being a one-time average watch.

C KKOMPANY is about three individuals, all living in the ‘C’ Wing of a middle class housing society: Akshay [Tusshar] is a crime reporter, Mr. Joshi [Anupam Kher] is a retired accountant trying to deal with his ungrateful son and Lambodar [Rajpal Yadav] is at loggerheads with his wife over his job. These three friends share their respective plight with one another and find solace in each other’s company.

On one occasion, they play a harmless prank to tackle their problems. One thing leads to another and before they realize, the incident becomes big news. But things don’t stop there. They put their new founded fame to good use and this in turn triggers off a series of incidents, which propel them to such heights that the three become the talk of the nation.

That Sachin Yardi has a flair for comedy was more than evident when he penned the thoroughly entertaining KYAA KOOL HAI HUM. C KKOMPANY also boasts of humour-laden sequences that keep you in splits at several points.

But keeping the humour alive from start to end is not everyone’s cup of tea. Yardi’s humour works till the beginning of the second hour, but things stagnate thereafter. Things get repetitive. There’s not much movement in the story and the comic scenes also range from enjoyable to avoidable.

Music is quite okay, but the songs — barring the Sanjay Dutt track at the outset — show up without valid situations. The Tusshar-Celina track, although well shot, comes up from nowhere. Cinematography is alright.

C KKOMPANY gets its glory because of its three protagonists. Tusshar is only climbing the ladder with every film. He’s excellent. Anupam Kher proves yet again that he’s amongst the best in the business. Rajpla Yadav is efficient too.

Mithun Chakraborty is in command after a long time. The veteran is superb. Vinay Apte and Dilip Prabhavalkar do complete justice to their respective roles. Raima Sen is pleasant. Karan Johar, Mahesh Bhatt and Ekta Kapoor’s appearances give the film that extra sheen.

On the whole, C KKOMPANY is funny in parts, not in totality. An ordinary fare!

After Guy injects a four/four rock beat into lead singer Jimmy’s ballad, the song’s undeniable pop power flings the Wonders into a brief whirlwind of success, telling the tale of many American bands who attempted to grab the brass ring of rock and roll in the wake of the British Invasion.

Is ROCK ON!! DIL CHAHTA HAI 2, one is tempted to ask. DIL CHAHTA HAI was a trendsetter when you look back, paving way for storytellers who wanted a new story to tell. Now, the DIL CHAHTA HAI team of Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar with director Abhishek Kapoor deliver ROCK ON!!, a film that makes you understand the true meaning of friendship.

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.

ROCK ON!! is not just about music. It’s about relationships. And relationships can get really complicated and messy as all of us would agree. ROCK ON!! captures it so beautifully, so sensitively, so effectively on celluloid.
Everything is in sync here, everything is just perfect. Flaws? Perhaps, the slow pacing. But come to think of it, you can’t play with the edit in a film like this. ROCK ON!! also works because you can relate to the characters, you can relate to the moods, the egos, the highs and the lows…

In a nutshell, here’s a film you just can’t afford to miss. We’ve had our share of masala films week after week. Now have a look at a film that India can proudly showcase to the West. ROCK ON!! simply rocks!

ROCK ON!! is the story of four friends [Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal, Purab Kohli, Luke Kenny] who put together the greatest band this country has ever seen, Magic, but never make it. Years later, fate conspires to bring them together again and set them on a journey back to where they left off… a soul-searching pilgrimage into their past.

ROCK ON!! bears some resemblance to the Hollywood film THAT THING YOU DO [Tom Hanks], but it could be a mere coincidence. Director Abhishek Kapoor sets it in the Indian milieu efficiently. Watch the bonding shatter into pieces for no fault of anyone in particular actually. It’s the circumstances that play the villain here and Abhishek captures it on lens so beautifully. The fragile relationships, how piece after piece is put together and the journey to the climax… the narrative is so compelling, it makes you feel you’re witnessing all of it first-hand.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s music is perfect. It’s completely in sync with the mood of the film. Connoisseurs of music have already showered the music with rave reviews and rightly so! Jason West’s cinematography is fantastic. The screenplay and dialogues are commendable.

Every performance in the film deserves brownie points. Farhan Akhtar makes his debut as an actor and he displays rare maturity for a first-timer. Known as an accomplished director all along, Farhan will now be acknowledged as a mature actor as well. Arjun Rampal delivers his finest performance to date. Watch him emote those tough emotional moments and also as a failed person in the latter parts and you’d realize that he has only grown with the passage of time. Superb is the word!

Purab Kohli is tremendous and so is Luke Kenny. Purab has always delivered fine performances, but he’s touched a new high this time. Luke is equally charged.

Prachi Desai scores in her very first feature. She has a challenging role and footage-wise too, it’s substantial. Prachi brings in a lot of freshness and poise. Plus, she’s a competent actor. Shahana Goswami is a talent to watch out for. Her performance is one of the most difficult ones for a newcomer and the confidence with which she carries it deserves to be lauded. Koel Purie has a brief role and she enacts it quite well.

On the whole, ROCK ON!! is an amazing experience. The highpoint is the emotional quotient, the skilful performances and the superb execution of the subject. At the box-office, this urban film holds tremendous appeal for metros and mini-metros. Business at multiplexes of Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and NCR, Kolkata and South in particular should be excellent. Very strongly recommended!