Soundtrack

What do you do when you are a musician and lose your hearing? Do you sink in despair or do you try not only to live with your disability but also ... read more

What do you do when you are a musician and lose your hearing? Do you sink in despair or do you try not only to live with your disability but also continue nurturing your passion?

Drawing parallels with the life of Beethoven who became deaf and yet continued to compose music, Soundtrack explores this unusual theme in the story of Raunak, a talented DJ and composer who loses his hearing partly due to heredity and partly due to his excesses of smoking, drugs and alcohol.

The story is hard-hitting and told without much fuss and melodrama. There is no weeping and wailing and melodramatic sequences, j ust. You see the devastation in the characters face and his downward spiral reminded me of Leonardo Di Caprios portrayal of Howard Hughes in The Aviator. The credit for this should go a lot to the way Rajiv Khandelwal plays Raunak. He is attractive, disgusting and admirable in turns as he faces his demons and learns to live with the hand Fate has dealt him. Soha Ali Khan as the deaf girlfriend is also quite endearing. Mohan Kapoor as the music promoter plays the over the top character with just the right amount of zing and energy.

The music for a film based on a composer is not that engrossing and we dont get to see enough evidence of his talent. Also, I was not sure what sort of music he composes. He sings off key in some scenes and cant play a simple nursery rhyme on a tiny toy keyboard but belts out a tuneful number later which I found a bit incongruous.

But then these are minor issues. The movie is made in a very different way with reality seeping in, in the form of interviews with actual music industry folks like Anu Malik , Anurag Kashyap and Kailash Kher. By blurring the lines between reality and fiction, the film touches a raw nerve in us. Also, after Shaitan, this is the second movie that shows what abusing drugs and alcohol can do to your body and mind.

This movie is a must watch for all reasons- great story, superb acting, and unusual treatment. Movies of this kind with actors like Rajiv Khandelwal will soon put cheesy over made up and built up heroes in idiotic masala movies out of business.
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As I walked out of the critics screening of this film I could hear pretentious, sham, deceptive cutting edge cinema. It made me wonder if people wh... read more

As I walked out of the critics screening of this film I could hear pretentious, sham, deceptive cutting edge cinema. It made me wonder if people who review films do it just for the heck of reviewing them and sounding intellectual and smart. Are they really pretentious, deceptive and all that they called this film? Do these so-called critics really help the aam janta in deciding their weekend? I hope not. So keeping that in mind, I decided to review this film.

Having given my disclaimer let me begin with what I thought was wrong with the film. In my opinion (and remember I am trying not to talk from a high horse here) the only thing that was wrong was that the film took itself too seriously and often meandered aimlessly in the very intellectual zone which has criticized it. The film is made with a lot of heart and some soul and it should have been true to it. Rajeev Khandelwal gives an honest performance but honestly his rockstar act lacked a certain pizzazz. Mohan Kapoor screams in some scenes making you wonder if he thought the audience too was deaf (and mind you this is before he realizes that Khandelwals character is deaf). Also the film has some lame moments that dont feel natural and seem deliberate in the arc to take the narrative forward. The end is dragged out beyond its genuine appeal.

Now the good stuff. Soha Ali Khan gives the best performance of her short but interesting career. In fact, the entire team of actors, especially Yateen Karyakar bolsters the film with their little efforts. I would like to mention Khandelwal again here just for the sheer girth he has shown in choosing films like these, though he still has a long way to go before we can expect a more seasoned performance from him.

Debutant director Neerav Ghosh displays quite a spark in his first film much like Bijoy Nambiar (Shaitan) earlier this year, as Soundtrack does have shades of Nambiars debut film. The screenplay is dynamic as it takes you on a yo-yo of emotions; from the dark and depressed first half to an elevated and inspiring second. The camera and editing work is cutting edge and very much in the league of Anurag Kashyap (who btw makes a cameo in the film). Medieval Punditz deliver a very refined and different soundtrack in the film, much like Moby and PVD did for Its All Gone Pete Tong, the original which has inspired this remake.

Overall its a good film that will strike a cord with many though its not your typical family or date night movie. But if you are an aam janta naagrik who is sick of seeing pretentious, sham, deceptive cutting edge cinema, please go for this film. You will not be disappointed.

3.5 stars.
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The official Indian remake of "Its all gone Pete tong". To tell you the truth, I had never even heard of this movie before, but apparently its a de... read more

The official Indian remake of "Its all gone Pete tong". To tell you the truth, I had never even heard of this movie before, but apparently its a decent movie with an imdb score of 7.3. Soundtrack is remade to be set in Indian surroundings and gets its own decent rating of 7.1 itself. It is definitely worth watching if you have not done so already.

Raunak Kaul, played by Rajeev Khandewal, is a budding super talented music composer. But he has the young over energetic blood flowing through his veins which is brash and cocky. He abuses his body with alcohol, nicotine and other substances, but his music keeps everything else in his life going. Things start to fall apart as slowly but surely Raunak starts losing his hearing. But the fighter that he is, he bounces back to fight his impairment by learning to lip read where he meets Gauri who is also deaf by birth. Gauri (Soha Ali Khan) teaches him to believe in himself again and Raunak emerges as the genius deaf music composer.

The treatment of this movie is its USP. There is no rona dhona or sympathizing at anytime. In fact the optimism shown by Rajeev and Soha's character is like a breath of fresh air. The movie is fast paced and is highly engaging from the moment it starts.

The music by Midival Punditz and Karsh Kale is of the kind which grows on you after you watch the movie. Agreed it should have been the highlight of the film but in the end it doesn't even matter.

Rajeev Khandelwal is soon creating a niche for himself. He is the next Abhay Deol in my regard. All his movies have been hard hitting dramas so far. He excels once again as an actor. He portrays both the shades nicely. Soha has a short but impactful role. Looks like she is a late bloomer much like her brother. Of the others Mohan Kapur has the meaty chunk. He is loud at times but he was just being Mohan Kapur.

Neerav Ghosh transcribes the original into an Indian environment. He does a decent job at maintaining the pace of the movie and does not pollute it with unnecessary songs and mushy love angles. Remakes are hard because its difficult to please the audience especially if they have seen the original. Neerav in my opinion does a pretty decent job.

Overall, watch it if you haven't already. If not in theaters, grab the DVD as soon as it comes out.

Reasons to watch:
1) Engaging subject and storyline
2) Rajeev Khandelwal
3) Fan of "Based on a true story"

Reasons to skip:
1) Hard hitting.

Rating : 7.9 / 10 view less

What actually makes 'Soundtrack' rock is the fact that it is based on a true story and thats what makes it all the more believable and engrossing t... read more

What actually makes 'Soundtrack' rock is the fact that it is based on a true story and thats what makes it all the more believable and engrossing too. 'Soundtrack; is certainly not one of those routine run of the mill films that gets churned out on the Bollywood conveyer belt every Friday and thus if you miss it you have not missed anything actually.


Neerav Ghosh has taken special pains to delve inside the psyche of his protaganist DJ Rounak Kaul a budding and promising up-coming DJ who has everything going for him unlike his father who died as a frustrated singer who failed to make his mark in spite of his talent and creativity. Not wanting to fall in the groove of his father Rounak comes to Mumbai to make his presence felt in the music industry and to cut his first demo tape he is willing to go to any extent. It is this very ambition that proves to be his failing as he ends up a victim of recklessSex, Uncontrolled Drugs & Unlimited Booze that comes along with Fame.


What DJ Rounaq feels are the trappings of Success to be enjoyed and discarded eventually engulf his life and career and he has destiny slap him in the face just when he is headlong into enjoying the perks of Success and fame. Once reality hits him in the face it takes him quite a while to do a reality check and accept that what is happening to him is stark reality and not something that he is merely imagining nor is it a nightmare from which he is struggling to wake up and return to normalcy.


Nothing can possibly be more ironic for a musician to turn deaf as that is the very basis on which their career stands and it's almost impossible to believe that a deaf musician can actually compose music.It's almost as unbelievable as a blind artist creating a master-piece painting. But that is what 'Soundtrack' is all about. Even when DJ Rounaq can listen to his music he is actually taught to feel his music and compose it to perfection and therein lies the true challenge.


Director Neerav Ghosh has incorporated real life celebrities from the music industry like Kailesh Kher, Anu Malik, DJ Aqueel, Saleem Merchant, VJ Bani and Anuraag Kashyap who take the film forward as they thread together the turbulent life and times of this unique one of a kind musician who conquered all odds proved himself in spite of his handicap and then vanished from the horizon of the music industry never to be seen again but only heard at irregular intervals.


Rajeev Khandelwal gives a truly sterling performance as he successfully gets under the skin of his character and brings it alive on screen minus any melodrama but a deft handling that reflects the maturity in his performance and rather complex role.More than just essaying a character on screen it's almost as if he is narrating his own story such is the conviction of his performance. He seems to find the pulse of his character from the very first frame and does absolute justice as he takes the film forward with a performance that is indeed truly gripping and engrossing too. It would not be in any way wrong to say that not only is 'Soundtrack' his film but he is virtually the soul of the film and he has contributed maximum in shaping the film the way it has eventually turned out to be.


But that does not in any way take away the contribution of Soha Ali Khan who has undisputedly given her career best performance in 'Soundtrack' and even though she make her screen entry rather late in the film almost into the interval once she does arrive she and Rajeev virtually take over the film between themselves as they give it their best shot. Mohan Kapoor gives an interesting performance but Mrinalini Sharma is almost wasted in this film as she has virtually little to do but that does not matter really because all said and done 'Soundtrack' solely rests on the shoulders of Soha Ali Khan and Rajeev Khandelwal and deftly handled by director Neerav Ghosh the end result is truly poigant and soul gripping.


All said and done I have absolutely no hesitation in saying that 'Soundtrack' is a must see film if you enjoy good cinema and its films like these that need to be patronised if good cinema is to to survive amongst the mainstream of trash that is religiously churned out every Friday by Bollywood!!


REVIEWED BY THE LIP SHANDIL
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