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Upala KBR (DNA; September 21, 2016)

The makers of Rock On!! 2 have shot a separate documentary called Rock On Revisited that encompasses the film’s journey, now that the sequel is due to hit theatres soon. Each character shares their respective journeys in this clip. The docu lasts all of 15 minutes and features stories about the impact the film had on audiences and on the group of individuals who came together to pursue their Hindi rock band, Magik.

Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal, Purab Kohli, Prachi Desai, producer Ritesh Sidhwani, music directors Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy all share their experiences about how the film became a movement, bagging National Awards for Best Supporting Actor (Arjun Rampal) and Best Feature Film in Hindi. However, the makers haven’t decided when they will release the documentary.

Says Farhan, “We decided we had to go back to how all it started. You have to follow what you are very excited about. There is no choice. Today, with Rock On!! 2, we have the opportunity to push that energy a bit more. It was in 2007 that Rock On!! director Abhishek Kapoor came up to me while I was with friends in a South Mumbai bar and told me he was very keen to cast me in film about a rock band as the lead singer in that band, Aditya Shroff. It wasn’t something that I hadn’t considered at that point — acting or singing. The responsibility of fronting a film was the greatest challenge. It’s not as easy as people imagine it to be.”

He adds, “We all worked at it and tried to get ourselves as close to performing the songs in a way, that it really felt to us as actors and to the audience, when they were watching, that these people are really playing and it’s not mock-stuff. You can’t pretend to be a lead singer. I have been touring with my band independently now and the music really did catch on, but it’s incredible to see the recall value of the first film’s songs. The minute the songs start from the album, the energy of that crowd just completely changes. With the sequel, we have that opportunity to push that more and do more concerts now as people are more familiar with the songs of the last film.”

There’s also a mention of winning the National award for Best Hindi feature film. “Yes that felt amazing. There have been so wonderful stories after our Rock On!! story where people told us how they came together and formed rock bands and became aware about rock music. That also forms a part of the documentary.”