Farhan Akhtar sings live at 'Rock On' music launch

The music launch of the film 'Rock On' was truly different. The Infinity Mall on Andheri Link Road in north-west Mumbai hosted the event, surprising shoppers and music lovers.

The audience went berserk when Farhan Akhtar, director of hit movie 'Dil Chahta Hai' who is debuting as actor-singer in 'Rock On', took to the mike and rocked the venue with two foot-tapping numbers from the movie. And he sang like a rocker indeed.

The movie is about four members of a band who reunite after they went their separate ways and how they recapture the hearts of their fans. Farhan plays the role of the lead singer in the movie and sings as many as five out of nine songs in it.

His father, noted lyricist Javed Akhtar, formally unveiled the album. Taking a break from poetic journey, Javed has also penned the songs for the movie in sync with its spirit.

The live concert offered additional bonanza when the composer trio, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy who have scored music for 'Rock On', came up on the stage and mesmerised the audience with their live performance.

'Rock On' is also the debut movie of TV actress Prachi Desai, who won a huge fan following as Bani in Ekta Kappor's 'Kasamh Se' for long. She quit the serial, still being aired on Zee TV, to make a career on the big screen.

Director Abhishek Kapoor presents her as a modern, hip girl whom the band singers try to woo. She, however, could not make it to the live concert.

Arjun Ramphal, whose cameo in Shah Rukh Khan's hit movie 'Om Shanti Om' went down beautifully well with the audience, also plays a singer in 'Rock On'.

The cast includes Purab Kohli, Shahana Goswami and Luke Kenny.

'To give the movie and its characters authenticity, the actors underwent personalised training for their portrayal of the band members,' Kapoor said.

Purab trained with Lindsay D'Mello on drums, Arjun Rampal trained with Chandresh from the band Dream out Loud, Luke Kenny worked with Loy and Farhan trained with Shankar for vocals and Ehsaan for rhythm guitar.

'We have worked with Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy and Javed saab earlier. So the process of creating music for 'Rock On' was all the more fun. It is a youth-oriented film. The music needed a distinct sound, keeping in mind contemporary appeal along with melodious tracks,' disclosed Ritesh Sidhwani, who has produced the movie along with Farhan for their production banner Excel Entertainment.