Farhan’s ‘Rolling Stone’ dream comes true with ‘Rock On’

Mumbai, Aug 31 (IANS) Actor-director Farhan Akhtar is elated with the cast and composers of “Rock On” making it to the cover of popular music magazine Rolling Stone. The September issue of the magazine features Farhan, Arjun Rampal, Luke Kenny, Purab Kohli and composer trio Shankar-Ehasaan-Loy on the cover – all looking dapper in black.

“Doing a film where I play a rock musician is a dream come true. But being on the cover of Rolling Stone? Man, that’s beyond a dream,” Farhan remarked.

“As a teenager I used to dream of being in Rolling Stone. Now it’s come true. I’m quite kicked about it. We’re featured because we’ve made the first film based on rock music from this country. Also, let’s not forget Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy are full-on musicians even if me and the rest of the cast are not,” Farhan told IANS.

“But yes, the only Indian musician who featured before us on the Rolling Stone cover was A.R. Rahman. So I can’t pretend I’m not kicked,” he added.

Farhan and the crew showed the film to close family and friends Wednesday night and he was very happy with their reactions.

“The response was very encouraging. I’m feeling more confident about the film.”

“Rock On” has got good reviews, and regardless of how it fares, it has set Farhan’s acting career rolling. But he stresses that directing would still be a priority.

“I won’t be seeking out roles or creating characters for myself so I could act. But after seeing ‘Rock On’, filmmakers would know my range and will offer me what’s suitable. I’m not going out looking for roles. After ‘Rock On’, I’ve my sister’s film ‘Luck By Chance’ as an actor. There’s also the unreleased film ‘Fakir’ where I’m cast with the very talented Mr. Anu Kapoor.

“At the moment I’ve two films to direct – ‘Voice From The Sky’ and the sequel to ‘Don’. Only then will I think of another acting assignment,” said Farhan, who has made hits like “Dil Chahta Hai” and “Lakshya”.

Any plans of a sequel to “Rock On”?

“That would depend entirely on the director Abhishek Kapoor and the kind of script he’d find again. If the plot is exciting, why not a sequel? For now we’re all completely satisfied with ‘Rock On’. Whatever I thought we’d be able to achieve, we’ve done it. There’s no sense of disappointment or incompleteness, regardless of which way the box-office goes,” the actor-director said.

— By Subhash K. Jha