Rock On II

Rock On II (also known as Rock On 2) is an upcoming 2016 Indian Hindi musical drama film directed by Shujaat Saudagar, produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, and with music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. It stars Shraddha Kapoor, Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal, Purab Kohli, Shashank Arora, and Prachi Desai in lead roles.^[1]
Rock On II is a sequel to the 2008 film, Rock On!!, and is scheduled to release on 11 November 2016

Development

After the release of the first film, a sequel was planned to be made. However, a follow-up went through prolonged development hell for almost eight years. According to Arjun this was because "it was important to figure out the story."^[4] The idea of the sequel was to have the same characters but explore where they are now after eight years.^[4] Pubali Chaudhuri spent three years writing the script.^[5] During the development phase, the film was initially intended to take place in Himachal Pradesh. But following the attacks of a Manipuri students in Delhi, the producers decided to alter the film's setting. Saudagar was watching the incident on news when Farhan pinged him up where the two discussed on the issue. Neither him or Farhan had been to the North East before but Purab who had visited many places there suggested Meghalaya and Shillong, as Shillong is also called the “rock capital.” Initially, the decision was met with some resistance. Saudagar says that the main intent was to bring the North East to Hindi cinema and also highlights the issue people in the state faces.^[5]

Pre-production

"I wanted to do a film in the North-East. There are North-Eastern students in various parts of India being beaten up and called outsiders. This film is a small attempt to bring the region into popular culture. I’m glad we shot in Shillong. Every person felt a sense of loss when we finished shooting. We'd all love to go back.

—Producer Farhan Akhtar on the decision to make the film in Northeast India.^[6]

In 2011, Shujaat Saudagar received a call from producer Ritesh Sidhwani who wanted him to be a second unit director in Don 2 (2011). Ever since then the two kept in touch with each other. Then in 2013, Ritesh once again approached him to see if he would be interested in helming a sequel to Rock On!! as a lead director to which he agreed.^[5] Saudagar admits that he is not in favor of sequels, but grew interested in this one after reading the coherent script.^[5]
Producer Farhan Akhtar had always wanted to make a film in Northeast India and says the film is a tribute to the people of the North-East and an attempt to bring the whole region into mainstream pop culture.^[6]

Casting

Aside from newcomers Shraddha Kapoor and Shashank Arora, the principal cast from the original film all returned for the sequel. The only member from the film's band Magik who did not return for the follow-up was Luky Kenny as his character died in the first film, while Arjun Rampal, Farhan Khan and Purab Kohli all reprised their respective roles making it a rare occurrence in Bollywood. The only other Bollywood sequel to have the three leads return for a sequel was Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2.^[7] After Rampal won National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 56th National Film Awards in 2008 for his role in Rock On!!, he rejected all offers thereafter to play a lead role as a musician.^[8]

There were offers to play the role of a musician but I did not want to do it. I did not want to do it (musician role) because I had done it (with Rock On) beyond my expectations. I had surpassed the expectations. There was always talk about Rock On 2, so I wanted to preserve it.^[8]

Kapoor, an ardent fan of the original film undertook vocal training for her role.

Shraddha Kapoor plays Jiah, an aspiring singer. Kapoor is an ardent fan of the original film and cites the recurring theme of music band and friendship [in the first film] as her prime reason wanting to star in the sequel. After watching the movie in theater, she told her father that if there be made a sequel, she would be in it.^[9] When she first heard that the filmmakers were making sequel, she called up producer Ritesh Sidhwani if she could be considered for a part. She met Sidhwani and the production team who mainly wanted to hear her sing.^[9] She gave a singing audition to the film's composer Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.^[10] Although Kapoor had sung before in her previous films, this marks the first time that the singer-actress sings rock songs.^[11] Whilst growing up, she took training in classical music from her nana, Pandharinath Kolhapure, but had to cease training after her nana passed away for which she says she regret. For the film, Shradha undertook vocal training with Samantha Edwards, a jazz vocalist, in order to adapt the rock genre correctly.^[12] Her biggest inspiration as a singer are her grandmother Lata Mangeshkarji and her mother Shivangi Kapoor, née Kolhapure.^[12] She said that part of what inspired her to star in the film was watching Farhan Akhtar in the original film write his own songs and perform them.^[12] Arjun Rampal was a little skeptic and grew wary when he first heard about Kapoor's involvement in the film since "she is from a different generation". But, upon hearing her vocals, it instead provided him inspiration.^[4]
Shraddha says she and her character, Jiah shares little resemblance. While she had a sheltered upbringing and would always travel with companies, Jiah on the other hand, is a loner and reclusive character who chooses to remain aloof and would rather live and travel alone. Director Saudagar would make her undergo a training process in which she spent as much time alone as possible with herself in order for her to connect to her character. Travelling to Shillong was in a way helpful for this process as she was away from her family. In some instances, she would put up "do not disturb" sign on the door.

I live with my family, so this meant that no one could knock on my door and come in while the sign was up. I needed to do this because Jiah is very aloof. She taught me to be alone. Jiah just packs her bags and takes off. I feel that I’ve learned how to be by myself, just reading a book or listening to music. I think that's important.^[9]

The film also marks the third time that Farhan plays a father in a feature film after Shaadi Ke Side Effects (2014) and in Wazir (2016).^[6]

Principal photography

The film was extensively shot in and around the city of Shillong (pictured) unofficially called "the rock capital of India."

Principal photography began in Shillong, Meghalaya on October 6, 2015 and the film was shot in numeours other locations in the eastern part of the state, including Umniuh Village in Ri-Bhoi district, Cherrapunjee and Laitlum.^[13] Prior to filming, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Excel Entertainment and the Government of Meghalaya in July 2015.^[14] Since the script demanded picturesque locations with lots of mountains, Ritesh Sidhwani chose Shillong its adjacent places in the state of Meghalaya to be the ideal locations. Sidhwani visited the state in February 2016 for scouting filming locations.^[15] In an interview with The Northeast Today, Akhtar stated that Shillong was the natural choice because of its close history with music. "We all know that Shillong has a huge history with rock music and it was an obvious choice for the movie" he stated.^[16] The film was initially set to take place in Himachal Pradesh.^[5] By August 2015, the whole cast and crew had arrived in the city to begin production. Farhan mingled with the people in the villages in order to understand their way of life.^[14]
In October 2015, Kapoor flew to Mumbai after an internal injury in her eye – an unknown onject flew into her eye which caused a scratch in her cornea. After her treatment, she returned back to the city the same month to continue filming.^[17]
In June 2016, while shooting a live concert sequence, Arjun Rampal and Purab Kohli got into a major fight due to creative differences which resulted in the shooting getting stalled for nearly an hour. The incident took place at the Gateway of India in Mumbai where the film was being wrapped with a song shoot. Farhan Akhtar – who at first was oblivious to the upheaval situation – when heard about the incident met the two men in their respective vanity vans and was able to calm them down. The shoot then resumed thereafter and went on smoothly with all three actors returning to the stage."^[18] Shooting for the "I Know What You Mean" scene took place in Madh Island in Mumbai.^[19] However, Saudagar rebuffed these allegations saying that such incident never took place.^[20]
The film had to undergo ten days of reshoots just two weeks before its premiere, making it a rare occurrence in Bollywood. According to an undisclosed source by the Deccan Chronicle, this was done in order to enhance the film.^[21] Such claim was also nevertheless dismissed by Saudagar but said that there some delays in shooting due to rain in Shillong.^[20] Pre-production took place for 70 days while filming lasted for a total of 66 days,^[22] ending in June 17, 2016.^[23]