Rock -ed On

October 7, 2008 | Filed Under Theatre & Movies 

I don’t think I have had a warm feeling towards a movie and at the same time felt extremely disapointed with it. I fear that if I attempt to make a movie, it will turn out something like this. And then I will fret for the rest of my life.

The movie fails for me because it is a piece of fiction. I wish it had touches of an Indian rock band. Say a Parikrama or an Indian Ocean, even if it was loosely based on them. But it wasn’t and then it became more a hindi movie than a movie based on rock music.

The music itself was disappointing. Making a hindi rock song is probably as difficult as writing a ghazal in english. So I feel for the crew. To expect Shankar - Ehsaan - Loy, Farhaan Akhtar and the likes to aspire to be Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, or Led Zepp and to even come remotely close to them is probably harsh. I did that and I was disappointed. I was also disappointed with Javed uncle’s poetry. (Javed uncle has heard me read at Oxford bookstore and I have high regard for him. My usage of the term uncle is a mark of respect and I don’t attempt to make fun of him. He has written great poetry and will continue to do so.) My disappointment ofcourse was the music and the lyrics weren’t going well together. I actually liked everything that other bands were singing than Magic themselves.

Also the name Magic for a band is exceptionally lame. And it’s reasoning is a very hindi movie reasoning. What the director forgot is probably the meaning of a ROCK Musician. Rockstars have auras about them, the only person who manages that faintly in the movie is Arjun Rampal. A hindi movie on a rock band is a disconcerting thought. By Hindi movie, I mean the mainstream movie makers like the Chopras and the Johars. They know it as well as me that they are not making movies, they are doing business.

And yet I liked the movie. I am a weird person. There are reasons for it. The intentions were good. Debbie played by Shahana Goswami stole my heart. She was the true rockstar in the movie. The rest of it didn’t quite come together. We need to take lessons on making movies on music having influences like rock and rock and roll - That thing you do, Almost Famous, Across the Universe are good movies to start with.

This movie was half baked but probably served with love.

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