Getting real musicians is great for lending Rock On!! 2 indie cred, but how about capturing the spirit of the scene properly? Where is the agony of playing shit gigs at shit venues?
At 12, I was convinced that music was my calling and Rock On!! was the closest I could get to the ultimate rockstar experience. But today, as the film turns 10, I find nothing redeeming about the film, except its music.
In the able hands of Ashim Ahluwalia, Arjun Rampal finds a rare middle ground as the eponymous Daddy, a complex and engaging character, one that Bollywood gangster dramas have been glaringly wanting
Sudhir Mishra’s Inkaar uncovers the complexity of workplace harassment. The 2013 film highlights a key feature of twisted power dynamic and gender politics: That while organisations may encourage women employees to speak up, when push comes to shove, people shall protect their own interests first and conveniently side with where the power lies.
In Dhaakad, Kangana Ranaut acts as a living, breathing, killing machine in a film that is too influenced by its western predecessors to have something of its own to say about a genre that we can only hope gets bigger and better.
In an era of celebrity diplomacy, few actors have the courage to laugh at themselves, fewer even to laugh at the idiosyncrasies of the industry they belong to. That’s where Om Shanti Om stood out.