Director: Imtiaz Ali;
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Nargis Fakhri, Shammi Kapoor, Shikha Jain, Jaideep Ahlawat, Aditi Rao Hydari, Piyush Mishra;
Running time: 160 mins;
Certificate: PG
Borne entirely of the imagination of Imtiaz Ali, Rockstar is the fictional story of Janardhan Jhakar, a small town boy with big dreams of becoming a rock star like his idol Jim Morrison. Lacking any personal tragedy that might infuse his music with passion, Janardhan goes on a quest for love and unwittingly embarks on a journey that culminates in his dramatic descent into oblivion. Using a non linear narrative style, the film depicts his emotional journey, from Janardhan the college geek, to Jordan, the angst ridden rock god who fills out stadiums.
The film opens with a bedraggled Jordan, fighting off police as he makes his way to his own concert. The footage is interspersed with flashbacks to the character in his youth, a gawky guitar wielding rock star wannabe, who sings to queues of people at bus stands.
Rockstar engages you from its very opening sequence through to its emotional denouement. Director Imtiaz Ali adeptly employs a range of elements that, in combination, render the film enthralling. The film is smattered with wry humour and witty dialogue where you least expect it. The non-linear style works brilliantly, maintaining a sense of escalating drama and building to a crescendo, as piece-by-piece we discover the incidents that lead to the genesis of the tormented artist.
Key to the film's authenticity is an outstanding performance by Ranbir Kapoor, who has immersed himself in the role. Kapoor's performance as the wilful Jordan, a loose canon and a free spirit with a sense of entitlement, belies his years, as he undergoes a dramatic transformation. We trace the emotional trajectory of Jordan over a period of seven years, and with subtle nuances Kapoor captures the character's unravelling. Jordan's burgeoning angst is conveyed in his physicality as he transmutes into a Che Guevara styled urban guerilla. Kapoor reportedly learnt to play the guitar for the role and his performance is so realistic that, coupled with the documentary style concert footage, it's easy confuse the film for a real life biopic.
Nargis Fakhri, meanwhile, is well cast as Heer and makes a bold cinematic debut. She brings naturalism, effervescence and incandescent beauty to the role, though her lack of experience is evident in the more intense stand-offs with Kapoor. Both actors have a natural chemistry and convey the unfettered spirit that unites the lovers, and depicting the carefree lunacy of their youth which is displaced by the torment of a forbidden passion and illicit love.
The music is integral to the story and bears all the hallmarks of A.R. Rahman's personal brand of genius. The soundtrack complements the emotional peaks and troughs in the narrative, and set against the backdrop of the stunning planes of Kashmir and Prague, is entirely compelling.
With subtle allusions to classic stories of forbidden love such as Romeo and Juliet and Heer Ranjha, Rockstar is a riveting portrait of the destruction that ensues in the face of passion and desire borne of forbidden love.
A simple story, beautifully enacted, perfectly crafted, there is not much to fault in this film. Exemplary cinema by any standards.
The film opens with a bedraggled Jordan, fighting off police as he makes his way to his own concert. The footage is interspersed with flashbacks to the character in his youth, a gawky guitar wielding rock star wannabe, who sings to queues of people at bus stands.
Rockstar engages you from its very opening sequence through to its emotional denouement. Director Imtiaz Ali adeptly employs a range of elements that, in combination, render the film enthralling. The film is smattered with wry humour and witty dialogue where you least expect it. The non-linear style works brilliantly, maintaining a sense of escalating drama and building to a crescendo, as piece-by-piece we discover the incidents that lead to the genesis of the tormented artist.
Key to the film's authenticity is an outstanding performance by Ranbir Kapoor, who has immersed himself in the role. Kapoor's performance as the wilful Jordan, a loose canon and a free spirit with a sense of entitlement, belies his years, as he undergoes a dramatic transformation. We trace the emotional trajectory of Jordan over a period of seven years, and with subtle nuances Kapoor captures the character's unravelling. Jordan's burgeoning angst is conveyed in his physicality as he transmutes into a Che Guevara styled urban guerilla. Kapoor reportedly learnt to play the guitar for the role and his performance is so realistic that, coupled with the documentary style concert footage, it's easy confuse the film for a real life biopic.
Nargis Fakhri, meanwhile, is well cast as Heer and makes a bold cinematic debut. She brings naturalism, effervescence and incandescent beauty to the role, though her lack of experience is evident in the more intense stand-offs with Kapoor. Both actors have a natural chemistry and convey the unfettered spirit that unites the lovers, and depicting the carefree lunacy of their youth which is displaced by the torment of a forbidden passion and illicit love.
The music is integral to the story and bears all the hallmarks of A.R. Rahman's personal brand of genius. The soundtrack complements the emotional peaks and troughs in the narrative, and set against the backdrop of the stunning planes of Kashmir and Prague, is entirely compelling.
With subtle allusions to classic stories of forbidden love such as Romeo and Juliet and Heer Ranjha, Rockstar is a riveting portrait of the destruction that ensues in the face of passion and desire borne of forbidden love.
A simple story, beautifully enacted, perfectly crafted, there is not much to fault in this film. Exemplary cinema by any standards.
By Priya Joshi
