Definition of a true "Rockstar' !

**************************HIGH SPOILER ALERT*********************

CONTINUE READING AT YOUR OWN RISK SINCE MY REVIEW HAS THE IN-DEPTH STORYLINE MENTIONED

**************************HIGH SPOILER ALERT*********************

I did not understand Rockstar.

I shall rephrase. I didn’t understand nor could I completely appreciate the intense passion that was portrayed in Rockstar between Jordan (a.k.a Janardhan, played by an equally intense Ranbir Kapoor) and Heer (played by a so-so but gorgeous Nargis Fakhri). Maybe, this is because I haven’t really shared the same passion with any other person till date. But this is not about me. This is about our protagonist Janardhan Jakhar a.k.a Jordan. 

DETAILED STORYLINE

This dude, Janardhan, dreams of being a great musician a la Jim Morrison what with all the posters hung in the bedroom of his middle-class Delhi house. Predictably, no one believes in him. He tries out for some auditions for various competitions but is ridiculed because he seemingly lacks the X-Factor. Why so? 

“ C’mon. “

It’s because he’s never been hurt anyhow, especially in love. And the common thread between great musicians, artists etc. (basically the artistes) is a broken heart and the latent anger which, in turn, supposedly brings out the maniacal force in a person. This force is subsequently channeled into artistic brilliance. 

Someone informs him that Heer is a reputed heart-breaker and he tries to profess his “love” for her. Upon rejection, he thinks he has achieved this aforementioned artistic brilliance. 

“Of course, he hasn’t. Otherwise, the movie would’ve been over within the first 20-25 minutes itself! ”

Moving on, Heer is enthralled by Jordan’s “charm” and informs him that she is going alone for a sleazy Z-grade movie “Jungli Jawani” and Janardhan, the hopeless fool, goes along with her. 

“Thus begins the pre-pubescent stage of the love story of Janardhan and Heer.”

*************** I suggest the readers to take a break now ***************

Following the movie, is the fulfillment of Heer’s things-to-do-before-marriage list which includes the consumption of desi alcohol, her questioning urinating men about their well-being etc. etc. At this junction, it’s revealed that Heer is betrothed to this random dude (played by a rigid Moufid Aziz). 

“No, no. No heartbreak as yet. Patience. They are still friends.”

A parallel story line involves a music company ‘Platinum Records’ approaching Janardhan to sing for them, after having heard him in one of the music competitions mentioned above. But, our Janardhan is too smitten by Heer’s friendship and ditches them to help Heer prepare for the wedding in Kashmir. 

“Bravo!”

After various shots of a picturesque Kashmir through a bike ride, Heer randomly asks Janardhan to hug her when they have a moment to themselves. 

“Basically, the love story has started to blossom but Janardhan is a ‘late developer’.”

Anyway, she keeps mum. He’s a late developer. At this point, the viewers have to assume that the marriage took place since she disappears and there are various shots of him obviously missing her company. 

 

*************** Break time again ***************

So, she’s in denial of her feelings and gets married. 

Soon after, Janardhan is beaten up by his brothers for going to Kashmir with this chick, Heer. Subsequently, he is kicked out of his house on the accusation of having stolen Rs. 5 lac from the family. 

“Special mention to the stereotypical grandmom who is sobbing hysterically in the background (as if the world has come to an end) & to the chewing-gum bhabhi (sister-in-law)”

He is forced to take shelter at the Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah for almost 2 months. During this time, he sings with the priests and is noticed by a famous Shenai player, Ustad Jameel Khan (played by Shammi Kapoor). Eventually, he takes refuge at the home of the only person home who believed in him since his college days i.e. the college-canteen owner (played by a brilliant Kumud Mishra). He persuades Janardhan to go back to Platinum Records where after a tragic recording session, he meets Ustad Jameel Khan. Ustad ji persuades the music company owner Dhingra (played by a funny Piyush Mishra) to sign up Janardhan irrespective of the recording since he saw a blaring spark in him. 

Soon after, Janardhan becomes a hit and during one of his performances, he’s informed that Dhingra is sponsoring 5 upcoming Indian singers to a trip to Europe and to “bingo! You guessed it” Prague! He barges into Dhingra’s office and demands to be taken along with him for which he will sign any contract with whatever clauses Dhingra wants to draft. Cut to Prague.

*************** Trust me, you need yet another break ***************

 

A visibly unenthusiastic, pale, fed-up-of-her-monotonous-lifestyle Heer is shopping with a screechy friend when she meets Janardhan. He takes her along for yet another bike ride and the fulfillment of yet another things-to-do-whilst-Janardhan-is-in-Prague list which now includes strip clubs and dancing with gypsies. 

“Believe me, the movie is still enjoyable.”

Meanwhile, he becomes a huge success in Prague (which seems to be the only destination visited by ‘Platinum Records’). 

Dhingra is happy. Heer is happy. Janardhan is still goofy and rechristened by Heer as ‘Jordan’. 

And then they kiss. 

Oh what a kiss. Randomly, unexpected and after “discussing” it, they kiss. And the passion flows. Goosebumps arise. 

And things get screwed up. She tells him to never meet her again. They end up in bed. 

She flees. They kiss again within 2 minutes at Janardhan’s last performance in Prague. 

“Very passionate, once again.”

She tries to rectify her mistake by firmly dismissing Janardhan. Dejectedly, he goes away. Not wanting to end things on a bad note, he flees from the airport just before boarding the flight back to India. In the process, he has a huge showdown with Heer & her husband in tow. This leads to him being charged of trespassing and assault on cops. Heer breaks off everything with him and he is arrested and deported back to India.

“He’s now an official criminal”

Miraculously, within the next 2 minutes, all charges seem to have been dropped and the latent anger is oozing out with tremendous force and Dhingra is encashing Janardhan’s misery by recording CDs of Jordan under the title ‘NEGATIVE’. Thus, the transformation of Janardhan to Jordan is finally complete. Overnight, he becomes a huge success and an equally raging person. He yells at journalists and threatens photographers. He disappears at will and violates contracts and commitments. 

Meanwhile, it is revealed that Heer suffers from some acute illness and her days are limited. 

“Her blood count is terribly low.”

She confesses to her husband and comes back to India to stay under the care of her parents and a wannabe gothic sister. Jordan, still anguished, finds out about her illness and rushes to her side. After a few lovey-dovey scenes, a miraculous improvement (“increased blood count”) & Jordan’s confession of his love, glimpses of the true Janardhan start showing in Jordan since they’re united. He’s now a visibly calmer person, caressing his lover’s face, and staring into her eyes. He starts fulfilling his commitments on her indirect insistence and she starts to accompany him everywhere. 

“Mind you, she is still a married woman.”

But in the words of her mother (portrayed by a stereotypical Shernaz Patel), ‘I am not going to come in between the one thing that has made my daughter regain her composure’. 

Soon after, when he is away, she falls ill once again resulting in a coma due to her being pregnant (yikes!!). He is torn apart and is accused of the cause of her condition. 

Next thing you know, the final concert of the movie takes place where he has an illusion of Heer coming up to him on stage and looking deep into his eyes and smiling. In this moment, he knows that she has passed on. 

He is now a true Rockstar. 

And the curtains are drawn.

This is the story of Rockstar, not in a nutshell.

ANALYSIS

ACTING:

To Ranbir Kapoor:

Rockstar is, undoubtedly, your best performance till date. Your transition from a naïve lover in Saawariya to the character of Jordan is phenomenal. You’ve put in every ounce of the Kapoor heritage in your blood towards the depiction of this character. 

Agreed, at times, one might feel that you’re overdoing it, but subtlety isn’t your forte. But who are we to judge. If we were to put ourselves in Jordan’s shoes, we might’ve reacted in the same way. Your portrayal of a goofy, rowdy and naïve Janardhan as well as an internally-torn, anguished Jordan is breathtaking. The look on your face in the final scene during your illusion is priceless. I wouldn’t be surprised if a barrage of awards falls into your lap in the following awards season. 

To Nargis Fakhri:  

You’re beautiful and you know it. But darling, pray tell, who did the dubbing of your dialogues? That person ruined your show completely. You’ve a tremendous screen presence but it is completely diluted by an emotionless dialogue delivery thanks to a really cheesy voice. I feel for you. As for your acting prowess; personally, you were average though you brought out the passion on screen and how!  But obviously, you’ve tons of scope for improvement. No award for you except, maybe, a best debutante! 

To Mr. Shammi Kapoor:

May your soul rest in peace, sir. According to me, this movie was an apt farewell to Bollywood from you. You might’ve been on screen for a totality of 10 minutes. But, you truly stole the show in all your scenes. I kid you not, goosebumps arose on my arm knowing that this would be the last time I would get to see you on the silver screen.

Farewell, Mr. Shammi Kapoor. 

SUPPORTING CAST:

Every actor from Kumud Mishra to Shernaz Patel had a well-etched out role in the movie which they portrayed to the best of their ability. 

You did a magnificent job, Mr.Kumud Mishra, as the canteen-owner and subsequently as Jordan’s manager.

As Dhingra, you were splendid, Mr. Piyush Mishra, especially in your Zebra-print clad underwear massage scene. 

“I assure you, it wasn’t sleazy!”

Ms. Shernaz Patel. You’re supremely elegant. Yet you seem to be playing really similar roles in movies nowadays. Why? 

You were interesting as the journalist, Aditi Rao Hydari.

MUSIC:

To Mr. A.R. Rahman

Is there anything left worth saying that hasn’t already been said about your music score, O maestro?

The songs form the essence and soul of the movie. Each song has a reason for being there. I’ve noticed that majority of the audience has either loved the music or detested it. To all the self-proclaimed critics out there (myself included), watch the movie to understand the music. Yes, you read it right. You need to understand the music to truly appreciate it. 

The movie is driven by Rahman’s music. Without his music, the movie is nothing. 

Be it the soothing ‘Tum Ko’ or the anthem-like ‘Sadda Haq’, every song manages to hold its own without ever giving the feeling of being forced into the storyline. That is an accomplishment in itself considering the OST consists of 14 original tracks. 

Personally, I almost fell into a trance while watching ‘Kun Faya Kun’ on the screen. Brilliant would be an understatement! 

I was a bit disappointed with the picturization of ‘Nadaan Parindey’ considering it is my personal favorite and it was, well, partly used to move the story along and not picturised as a whole. 

Another song worth mentioning would be ‘Hawaa Hawaa’. I pose a question to all of you:

Have you ever heard the lyrics of this song carefully? It is a story within a song based on a Czech folktale. And it is beautiful! 

Anyway, this is not a music review. But I repeat, the movie is nothing without the music.

PRODUCTION VALUE:

 

To Mr. Imtiaz Ali

I bow down to you. You are a brilliant story-teller. You have a terrific vision and it is obvious on screen. The entire build-up of the transition of Janardhan to Jordan wasn’t very well etched out to be honest. Yet, you’ve steered this boat in the right direction. People can say what they want, but you have my vote. 

Thus, I can understand that after having made such a large scale film, you must’ve snoozed off on the editing table. A runtime of almost 3 hours? Really? I’ve no issues against it per se, but the audience did seem to have some. They grabbed the opportunity to issue a lot of hooting and catcalls. 

Also, the non-linear narrative, consisting of tons of flashbacks, might leave the audience confused. Moreover, I got tired of watching Jordan repeatedly shouting in anger and frustration on stage. 

But hey, that’s my opinion. All in all, I loved your film, your story, your depiction of Jordan, your idea of romance and passion and most of all, your choice to cast Ranbir Kapoor. 

(For the confused readers: Rockstar was to be made with John Abraham originally). 

A special mention is required for the cinematographer, Anil Mehta. Every frame of the movie is a treat for the eyes. Be it Delhi, Prague, Kashmir or Mcleod Ganj, the picturesque scenery is flawlessly captured. In contrast, the stage performances of the protagonist come to life with his dynamic shooting.The background score is scintillating.

CONCLUSION

Dear readers,

Trust me, I could go on writing, especially by mentioning various scenes that capture your attention. But it is not worth revealing the intricate details any further as I’ve already said enough. Go watch the movie even though I’ve just revealed it all !

I rate it 3.5 stars out of 5.

P.S. This movie will not appeal to many people. It is not a happy-go-lucky feel-good everything-is-in-la-la-land movie. (Not that it aimed to be one!).

P.P.S. The sarcasm was intended but the bit about the kiss and the passion was genuine.

Love,

Shresht.

REVIEWED BY:

Shresht Poddar

Follow me on : www.twitter.com/shreshtpoddar