Rock On 2 Movie Review: The Magik Band Deserved A Better Reunion Than This Farhan-Shraddha Starrer!

Is Rock On 2 worth the hype? We watched it and here’s what we have to say.

By Madhuri

Rating:
2.0/5

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

Director: Shujaat Saudagar

Producers: Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani

Writers: Abhishek Kapoor, Pubali Chaudhari

What's Yay: A wave of nostalgia that hits you over when you see the Magik band reunite, sound-designing.

What's Nay: Wobbly plot, lacklustre songs

Popcorn Refill: Take one when your popcorn tub needs a refill and we bet you won't miss anything major.

The Iconic Moment: We wish there was some! *sigh*

Rock On 2

Plot: The film starts off from where it left years ago and we are told by the voice of KD aka 'Killer Drummer' (Purab Kohli) that it's been eight years since the Magik band gave that grand performance of Sindbad.

In present day, 'Adi' Aditya Shroff (Farhan Akhtar) has turned into a remorse-filled recluse and given up music after an unfortunate incident. He has chosen the path of philanthropy in a small village in the North East to shake off his guilt but continues to suffer from recurring nightmares that leave him in cold sweat.

On the other hand, lady luck has been smiling on Joe Mascarenhas (Arjun Rampal) as he is now a celebrity reality-show judge and the owner of a swanky night-club.
Enter Jiah Sharma (Shraddha Kapoor), a troubled girl with Daddy issues seeking refuge in music. Accompanying her is an aspiring sarod player, Uday (Shashank Arora). Impressed by these two youngsters, Joe invites them to perform at his nightclub. However, once on the stage, Jiah backs off at the last minute leaving everyone stunned.

What follows next is a startling revelation that gives the Magik a motive to reunite and rock on once again!

Direction: Shujaat Saudagar takes over the reins from Abhishek Kapoor and stitches together the characters to bring the world of Magik back to life. Unfortunately, the director stumbles and fumbles when it comes to story-telling and fails to tug our heartstrings. The weak plot never lets him take full control to showcase his direction skills while you try to sail through all the highs and lows.

Acting: Farhan Akhtar gets the maximum screen-time in the first half as the makers want us to feel his loneliness and guilt to connect with his character. Sadly, instead it just leaves you craving for rays of sunshine and the scenes starring KD and Joe come as a big relief at such moments.

One wished we could have had more of KD (Purab Kohli) and Joe (Arjun Rampal) in the film! A more detailed insight about their changed lives could have made for some interesting watch.

Shraddha Kapoor gives one of her most restraining performances as you never get a chance to feel her inner conflicts.

Watch out for Shashank Arora! He steals away the show whenever he is on screen.

Prachi Desai ends up more with a role that could be credited as a guest appearance whereas Kumud Mishra suffers from a half-baked role.
And yes, we missed Luke Kenny!

Other Technical Aspects:

The biggest drawback of Rock On 2 is its poor, wafer-thin script which works only superficially. You never really feel for any of the characters whether they are happy or sad. Further, the makers even throw in a socio-political angle post interval that just drags the narrative leaving you in boredom.

Marc Koninckx does a good job with the cinematography.

Music: While Rock On had some great songs in the album that clicked with the youth, this one barely stays with you. Leaving Manzar Naya, none of the tracks strike a chord.

Verdict: One wished they hadn't ruined our memories of the first film. The makers failed to cast a 'Magik' spell this time! There's no harm in skipping this one.

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