Of journeys and meetings and second chances...

.... so I get a call at 8:52 pm saying "hey Nandhini, I'm going to watch rock on, interested ?" .. I was like, yeah sure! I want to watch the movie as well.. and then pat comes the reply, cool , can you please get ready in 5 min ? The show starts at 9:05!
A blast of noise greeted us as we walked into the theater, which, we found out later was the ending chords of the song socha hai , and we were like maan, we missed the beginning, and almost immediately afterwards came the title "Rock On" .
What followed was a very well depicted tale of the journey that every person takes in his or her own unique way, the choices they make, the choices they could have made, the struggle with the imp in your head that keeps saying "What if?" ; but ultimately of redemption and of relationships that just have no way of going wrong, however deep the gash may be (or maybe because what was perceived as a gash was just a superficial wound?? you never know!)
Farhan Akhtar is A.W.E.S.O.M.E ! He starts off as the insensitive guy, seemingly oblivious to how empty his life is (despite the great house he lives in!) , who just wants to get on with life kyunki "Compromise kaun nahi kartaa" ? He smiles, and it is more like a grimace, his life is his work, and his wife is just a part of the scheme of things, a convenient addition, with any emotions towards her safely swept under the "compromise package" .
Farhan Akhtar can sing! He's made sure his directorial debut was unforgettable, leading the way to a separate genre of movies -- and every movie made about friends (including the one being written about by yours truly!) has been labeled as a movie "with a DCH hangover" . And what an acting debut! One of those acts where you don't feel separated by time, space and a movie screen, and he manages to sing five out of a total of seven songs, and sound good!! Never seen that before!
As acting went, one could see the desperation in Joe(well played by Arjun Rampal)'s eyes, as they flare up and die down alternately with any tiny wisp of hope and with the wisp never really becoming anything substantial. You see KD, whose face always has that dazed look of someone in shock, and who seems to be eternally asking himself "What if? "
..And then there is the quiet wife who just cannot see whats (not) happening and sets things in motion once she "accidentally" discovers that her husband was infact alive once upon a time.
What seemed the most shaky part of the story was how the friends part, how sudden fame causes dormant egos to waken and reminds everyone that they're individuals first, and a part of a team next. Interestingly (defininitely not originally.. remember seeing something like this before as well, ... may be in DCH :) ) alternating between the present and the past, the viewer is made cognizant of how deep/wide the divide is.
One awkward surprise birthday party and two different conversations later, the four meet, not before Rob says what was the movie's most unforgettable dialogue "Zindagi sabko doosra mauka nahi detii" ..
Next is more or less formula, throw in an old rival, an old love, and an old rivalry, and the good old brain tumour.
My friend and I were "wow" once the closing titles came up (something else comes up too "Please buy a CD, don't download the music" !!! touche! )

It all started with a group of friends who said "Yeh dosti hum nahi todenge, todenge dum magar tera saath na chodenge" , it ends with the same group of friends who still maintain "Yeh dosti hum nahi todenge", but one of them actually manages not to "live" upto it, and what happens in between is just a second chance, carefully camouflaged in a small box, lying somewhere forgotten , unrecognizable and waiting to be picked up by someone who realizes its worth and makes the effort to join the dots.

Taa naa, nah nah naa Taa naa nah nah naa