Rockstar

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Nargis Fakhri
Director: Imitaz Ali

“Mai daru peeta hi nahi. Sirf hothon pe aur collar pe thodi laga leta hu aur acting karta hu nashe me hone ki,” Janardhan confesses when he is frolicking around with Heer, who wanted to go “wild” before her marriage in a royal family in Prague. I think this is where our desi rockstar stands apart from Jim Morrison, who he believes to be a rebel and shot to fame after his middle finger display in public! Janardhan is rechristened to Jordan (because it's much cooler, you see) but never goes about drugs.  He gets high on his own madness.



The experience starts off with Ranbir crooning a song, and that sequence is a mash of his different concerts throughout the film which depicts the buzzing in his mind. We get back to the point where his character, Janardhan Jakhar who's singing with his guitar to a talent show audition in his campus. Well, no names thrown until a point where suddenly it is Stephen's! Thank God for creative liberties. He wants to be an icon, with his guitar obviously and seeks guidance from Khatana (played by Kumud Mishra) who's actually runs the college canteen. No backing up for why he's the one who Janardhan turns to, but yeah, Khatana tells him that all great stars had some "pain" in their heart & that helped them to become what they were. So our clean-cut nerd tries to look for pain and overhears someone saying that Heer (Nargis) has caused a lot of "pain" to a lot of guys who fell in love with her. Voila! He found pain and now he's soon going to be our Rockstar.

Jordan's kicked out of his home for laundering some cash from the family business accounts, and drops out of college as well; he did not tell anyone where he's been to. Surprisingly no one actually notices his absence until he's back. Few more well put together songs and Ranbir moves on with his life and grows on to become what he aspired to. Once he gets there, he goes to Prague and laps up some more loitering, singing and dancing with the now married lady. They do cross their lines when she asks him to get out of her life. The film then basically revolves around his feelings for her and everything's conveyed musically, no objections as only one song gets a tad too long. The late Shammi Kapoor plays a character inspired from Ustad Bismillah Khan & yes he is also a Shehnai maestro.

For those who are Jim Morrison fans & have seen The Doors by Oliver Stone might just draw some similarities between the two, but love is actually quite the driving factor. The void caused by Heer's absence makes him do things that he doesn't know or at least says so. There is a script and it has been woven meticulously with the soul rendering and superb music by A.R. Rahman. Kun Faaya Kun is a moment made in heaven!  You have to look out for certain moments, in one where Khatana's guiding Janardhan to glory while eating Rajma Chawal and where he's again asked to talk to reporter, Sheena (Aditi Rao Hyderi) on Ranbir's disappearance. You are definitely wondering at times where the story is going towards and actually might lose some interest, and you might never gain it back if you don't buy into what's going. Visually, the film remains a treat with its large sized shots and the sets exude authenticity.  The editing by Aarti Bajaj is strong enough for the narration. One may find it too abrupt or confusing, but does justice to the layers set for the story telling.

The underlying story is nothing new by Imitiaz. It’s somewhere derived or extended from Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal: the guy and the girl don’t know what keeps them hooked to each other but love after they realize it at the end. Here too, the boy is ambitious and the girl is nothing but married. With his typical direction where the motion picture comes round to a circle, Imitiaz Ali serves the same dish on just a new plate. But indeed, his love stories aren’t typical where guy has to say “I Love You” to the girl and you expect a reply “I love you too.” He masters showcasing this relationship as a lovely companionship.

All in all, Rockstar is a sincere effort by Ali. Watch it for Ranbir's improving performance and the experience in a whole.

Reviewed by Rohan Valecha