Rock On 2

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 8 years. According to Rampal, this was because "it was important to figure out the story."[6] The idea of the sequel was to have the same characters, but explore where they are now after 8 years.[6] Pubali Chaudhuri spent 3 years writing the script.[7] During the development phase, the film was initially intended to take place in Himachal Pradesh, but following the attacks of Manipuri students in Delhi, the producers decided to alter the film's setting. Saudagar was watching the incident on the news when Akhtar pinged him up where the two discussed on the issue. Neither him or Akhtar had been to the North East before, but Kohli who had visited many places there, so he suggested Meghalaya and Shillong, as Shillong is also called the "rock capital." Initially, the decision was met with some resistance. Saudagar remarked that the main intent was to bring the North East to Hindi cinema and also highlight the issue of people facing in the state.[7]

The producers decided that there would be no romantic relationship or love story between the two leads. Saudagar stated, "Rock On 2 is not about an extramarital affair. It’s a story of human bonds and is based on modern relationships."[8]

Arora at special screening of the film

In 2011, Saudagar received a call from 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, Sidhwani 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.[7] Saudagar admits that he is not in favor of sequels, but grew interested in this one after reading the coherent script.[7]

Akhtar had always wanted to make a film in Northeast India and stated that the film is a tribute to the people of the North-East and an attempt to bring the whole region into mainstream pop culture.[9] Also, the film has been called a "visual treat" under the parts shot in Northeast India.

Aside from newcomers Kapoor and 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 Luke Kenny as his character died in the first film, while Rampal, Akhtar and 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 (2015).[10] After Rampal won the 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.[11]

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.[11]

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

Kapoor plays Jiah Sharma, a keyboard player, programmer and a singer.[12] She was an ardent fan of the original film and cites the recurring themes of music and friendship in the first film as her prime reason wanting to star in the sequel. After watching the film in theaters, she told her father that if a sequel was made, she would be in it.[13] When she first heard that the filmmakers were making a sequel, she called up Sidhwani to ask if she could be considered for a part. She met Sidhwani and the production team who mainly wanted to hear her sing.[13] She gave a singing audition to composer trio Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy.[14] Although Kapoor had sung before in her previous films, this marks the first time that the singer-actress sings rock songs.[15] Whilst growing up, she took training in classical music from her grandmother, Pandharinath Kolhapure, but ceased training after her grandmother died. For the film, Kapoor undertook vocal training with Samantha Edwards, a jazz vocalist, in order to adapt her voice to the rock genre.[16] Her biggest inspirations as a singer are her grandmother Lata Mangeshkar and her mother Shivangi Kapoor (née Kolhapure).[16] 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.[16] 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.[6]

Kapoor says she and her character Jiah share little resemblance. While she had a sheltered upbringing and would always travel with companies, Jiah is a loner and a reclusive character who chooses to remain aloof and would rather live and travel alone. 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.[13]

The film also marks the third time that Akhtar plays a father in a feature film after Shaadi Ke Side Effects (2014) and in Wazir (2016).[9]

The film also includes budding star Priyanshu Painyuli who plays Kapoor's brother, who plays a crucial role in the story.[17]

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 6 October 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.[18] Prior to filming, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Excel Entertainment and the Government of Meghalaya in July 2015.[19] Since the script demanded picturesque, mountainous locations, Sidhwani chose Shillong and its adjacent places in the state of Meghalaya as the ideal locations. Sidhwani visited the state in February 2015 for scouting filming locations.[20] In an interview with The Northeast Today, Akhtar stated that Shillong was the natural choice because of its close history with music saying "we all know that Shillong has a huge history with rock music and it was an obvious choice for the movie,"[21] while Saudagar said this was due to the city's passion for rock music.[8] The film was initially set to take place in Himachal Pradesh.[7] By August 2015, the whole cast and crew had arrived in the city to begin production. Akhtar mingled with the people in the villages in order to understand their way of life.[19]

In October 2015, Kapoor flew to Mumbai after an internal injury in her eye – an unknown object flew into her eye which caused a scratch in her cornea. After her treatment, she returned to the city the same month to continue filming.[22]

In June 2016, it was reported that while shooting a live concert sequence, Rampal and 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. Akhtar, who at first was oblivious to the upheaval situation when he 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.[23] However, Saudagar rebuffed these allegations saying that such an incident never took place.[24]

Filming concluded in the Gateway of India, Mumbai in June 2016.

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.[25] Such claim was also nevertheless dismissed by Saudagar but he said that there were some delays in shooting due to rain in Shillong.[24] Additionally, shooting for the "You Know What I Mean" song took place in Madh Island in Mumbai.[26] Pre-production took place for 77 days while filming lasted for a total of 66 days,[12][27] ending on 17 June 2016.[28]

Due to part of a Hindi dialogue being spoken unclear by a character from Meghalaya, the CBFC requested the producers to re-dub the dialogues for clarity.[29]

While the film is predominantly aimed at younger demographics, Excel Entertainment carried out a marketing plan in order to appeal to a much wider audience.[35] The film recouped ₹8–10 crore from various brand tie-ups alone.[35] The first poster was released on 2 September.[36] A live concert by the stars and music directors was held in National Sports Club of India in Mumbai on 17 September, for the album launch.[37] Akhtar and Kapoor, along with members of the former's Farhan Live band embarked on a nationwide concert tour such as in Bangalore, Aurangabad, Maharashtra on 2 November and Hyderabad on 6 November. Akhtar performed at the annual 2016 NH7 Weekender held in Bhoirymbong in Ri-Bhoi district, Meghalaya from 21 to 22 October.[38] The first trailer was launched on 24 October in presence of the cast members. In October, Rampal, Akhtar, Kapoor and Desai made an appearance on The Kapil Sharma Show.[39] On 8 November, the band held a concert at one of University of Delhi's Ramjas College in New Delhi. The band was originally set to perform in one of the university's other college, Kirori Mal College, which is the alma-mater of Kapoor's father, Shakti Kapoor. However, permissions were not granted for performing there due to the staff council allowing concerts only during a specific school festival, and not any other event.[40] Due to her commitments to the film, Kapoor decided to put her shooting schedule her upcoming film, Haseena, on hold until December 2016 in order for her to promote the sequel more robustly.[41] She also delayed a flight to the United States in September 2016 for her Half Girlfriend shooting schedule for the same reason.[42]

The film signed with 10 various brand associations which served as promotional partners, such as Hexa from Tata Motors, Amul, Boat Speakers, Regal Shoes, Nutrilite, Vodafone, Spunk Apparels, Cromā, hike Messenger and Zippo.[35][43]

According to Koimoi.com, since the film is a sequel to a successful prequel, the film is expected to post a "decent opening week" of around ₹35 crore (US$4.4 million) to as high as ₹40 crore (US$5.0 million) on its opening day.[47][48] International Business Times pointed out that the continued run of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Shivaay as well as the ban of the use of ₹500 and ₹1000 currencies were all (negative) factors in determining the film's opening performance.[49] The film is releasing across approximately 1,700 screens the same day as Chaar Sahibzaade: Rise of Banda Singh Bahadur, making it a rare occurrence in Bollywood that two sequels are releasing on the same date.[50]

The film opened Friday, 11 November, across approximately 700 screens, earning approximately ₹2.02 crore (US$250,000) and witnessed an above-average start by occupying 5–10% of seats on its opening day.[51][52][53] The prime factor for the film's low performance was the demonetization of the two currencies as people nationwide were more pre-occupied with depositing, exchanging and withdrawing the currencies and the money would be allocated to other needful resources other than movie tickets since people would want to forgo waiting in long queues as bank would constantly run out of cash.[54] Producer Sidhwani lamented on the performance saying, "We have made a beautiful film and by the time announcement was made, it was Wednesday and the prints were already out. We couldn't afford to push the release date as the piracy laws in our country are not strong enough to protect the movie from getting leaked. Our two years of efforts would have been wasted." He also pointed out that had the postponement decision been made a week before, then they would have gone with it.[54] The film was termed as a disaster by Box Office India because of demonetization.

The film garnered polarized reception from critics. Praise was aimed at the cast's performances and Marc Koninckx's cinematography, while its screenplay and soundtrack received negative reception.[55][56]

The Economic Times lauded the film, giving it 4½ stars out of 5 and writing that the film is pretty much the most engaging and authentic sequel to come out of Bollywood in recent memory.[57] Rohit Vats of The Hindustan Times wrote, "Rock On 2 might not have a strong conflict in the storyline, but it definitely works as the narrative of a unique camaraderie among the boys."[10][41][58]