Rockstar is 2011 Indian musical romantic drama film directed by Imtiaz Ali, starring Ranbir Kapoor and debutant Nargis Fakhri, with music composed by A. R. Rahman. Eros International Ltd. co-produces the film with Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd. The film also stars Shammi Kapoor, Aditi Rao Hydari, Moufid Aziz, Piyush Mishra, Shernaz Patel
and Kumud Mishra, with the former making his last silver screen
appearance in this film. The film was released on 11 November 2011. It
received positive to mixed reviews[5] and opened well at the box office.
Plot
The film opens showing a large crowd outside the famous Verona Arena, Italy, with eager fans queuing outside the arena for the concert of rock star Jordan (Ranbir Kapoor).
Jordan, who moments ago was being attacked by thugs, manages to escape
and reach the arena. He breaks the fan barriers and shows complete
disregard for his fans, storms onto the stage in a fit of rage and
starts strumming his guitar.
The movie goes into flashback to the story of Janardhan Jhakar a.k.a JJ, a simple Haryanvi boy from Pitam Pura, Delhi,
who dreams that some day become a big star. His dreams are, however,
only a source of amusement and jokes for his friends. Khatana, the
canteen owner (Kumud Mishra) where JJ frequents, tells him that the only
way JJ can produce melody is if he undergoes trauma via a heartbreak.
Janardhan jokingly tells himself that since he hasn't seen bad times, he hasn't been able to reach his idol's (Jim Morrison) level of fame, and he needs to do something about it. JJ and his friends go to a performance of Heer Kaul (Nargis Fakhri), one of the most beautiful girls in The Hindu College,
where JJ overhears that Heer is the "perfect heartbreaking machine".
Janardhan instantly decides that proposing to her (and being humiliated
in the process) is the perfect method for receiving the much needed
"heart-break" and the key to "fame". That doesn't quite happen though,
but in the ensuing process, they both become good friends, hanging out
together and doing naughty things together (like drinking desi liquor and watching a sleazy B-grade Hindi movie called "Jungli Jawaani").
The focus then shifts to Heer's wedding in Kashmir, after which Heer and her husband Jai (Moufid Aziz) are set to depart to Prague.
During the wedding preparations, Heer develops feelings for JJ, but
does not confess to him. Before leaving, she coins the name "Jordan" for
JJ. Janardhan returns to his life back home, however, life takes an
ugly turn when JJ is clobbered and thrown out of his house by his elder
brother for attending Heer’s wedding and for stealing 
5 lakh. JJ takes refuge for two months in the nearby Nizamuddin Dargah, singing qawwalis, then grows weary and shifts to a local temple where he spends some time singing bhajans. Losing interest from all of this, he requests and takes refuge in Khatana's home.
5 lakh. JJ takes refuge for two months in the nearby Nizamuddin Dargah, singing qawwalis, then grows weary and shifts to a local temple where he spends some time singing bhajans. Losing interest from all of this, he requests and takes refuge in Khatana's home.
Ustad Jameel Khan (Shammi Kapoor), a renowned classical artist and a Padma Bhushan, remembers having seen and heard JJ singing at the Dargah, and prompts Dhingra (Piyush Mishra), the owner of a music company called "Platinum Records", to sign JJ as he foresees a bright future for JJ. When Sheena (Aditi Rao Hydari),
a journalist interviewing Jordan as a rockstar, hints to Jordan that
Dhingra intends to send some artists to Prague for a tour and
recordings, Jordan instantly volunteers to work there in order to
reunite with Heer.
Heer, meanwhile, has been having health issues for some time now and
has been regularly visiting a psychatrist for treatment. Jordan and Heer
finally meet and after a while of intimacy, Jordan tries to profess his
love for her, but Heer, being married, spurns his advances. Despite
Heer's warnings to Jordan asking him to stay away from her, Jordan
decides to say "bye" one last time before departing for India. While
doing so, Jordan trespasses on Heer’s property and is arrested by cops
and deported back to India. Jordan, upon being brought to India, is
overwhelmed by the media attention and him being painted in a negative
light. Frustrated, Jordan clashes with the media and the Indian Police
and is sent to jail. Dhingra becomes happy about the publicity he has
received because of Jordan, which has helped sales of his records.
During one of his live performances, Jordan meets Mandy (Sanjana
Sanghi) who after revealing herself to be Heer's sister, asks him to
help Heer, who has been diagnosed with terminal bone marrow cancer. When Jordan goes to meet Heer, her mother, Neena Kaul (Shernaz Patel),
who knows about Jordan's past with Heer, gets angry and asks Jordan to
leave her house. To her and their family doctor's surprise, Heer starts
quickly recovering due to Jordan. Jordan starts to spend more time with
Heer disregarding all his work-related commitments. During a visit to
Kangra Valley, Heer accompanies Jordan to one of his concerts where the
media links him with Heer, portraying her as having an affair with
Jordan despite being married. Heer asks Jordan to take some time off and
first finish his work before coming back to her. Heer's condition
worsens and she slowly slips into a coma, and Heer is discovered to be
pregnant with Jordan's child. Mandy calls Jordan one last time hoping
that she will recover.
The film ends as it started: with Jordan performing "Nadaan Parindey", and he envisions Heer's spirit having flown to him.
Cast
- Ranbir Kapoor as Janardhan Jakhar / Jordan / JJ
- Nargis Fakhri as Heer Kaul
- Shammi Kapoor as Ustad Jameel Khan
- Aditi Rao Hydari as Sheena
- Moufid Aziz as Jai (Heer Kaul's husband)[7]
- Sanjana Sanghi as Mandy (Heer Kaul's sister)
- Kumud Mishra as Khatana[8]
- Piyush Mishra as Dhingra
- Shernaz Patel as Neena Kaul
Production
Casting
The lead role is played by Ranbir Kapoor, with whom the Eros International worked previously on Anjaana Anjaani. Director Imtiaz Ali, who loved Kareena Kapoor's performance in his Jab We Met wanted to cast her in Rockstar.
However, the script in Rockstar required some romantic scenes between
the romantic leads. As Ranbir and Kareena happened to be cousins, this
would have been a problem. Moreover, the filmmakers could not imagine
replacing Ranbir with any other actor as the character that Ranbir
Kapoor plays in Rockstar was tailor made for him. They then made a joint decision to let go of their plan to cast Kareena in Rockstar.[9] Eventually American model Nargis Fakhri was cast as the female lead.[10] Voice actor Mona Ghosh Shetty dubbed for Nargis Fakhri. She had previously dubbed for Deepika Padukone for Om Shanti Om. The film marked Shammi Kapoor's last appearance in a feature film; he died on 14 August 2011.[11]
Filming
The lead character Jordan is loosely based on Imtiaz Ali's Jat friend, who lived in a small settlement in Pitam Pura.[12]
The shooting began in May 2010 and the film is scheduled to release on
11 November 2011. The major part of the shooting took place at locations
in Kashmir at Kulgam, Kupwara, Srinagar and last phase has been shot in Delhi including, Kotla Mubarakpur, Nizamuddin Dargah, Greater Kailash, Munirka, Indira Gandhi International Airport, Madangir DDA and Connaught Place, and three-day schedule at the Shri Ram College of Commerce, St. Stephen's College, followed by one at the Hindu College, director Imtiaz Ali's alma mater, during the winter break of these colleges.[13]
The film was shot in reverse as the crew didn't want to break the
continuity of Ranbir's hairstyle. So the climax with long hair was shot
first.[12] Kapoor had to take many efforts to transform himself into a rockstar: he practised guitar at A. R. Rahman's studio for many days, read Kurt Cobain's biography and familiarised himself with Jats.[14]
Film's costumes were designed by Aki Narula and Manish Malhotra,
who dressed lead Ranbir in "small-town denim-and-sweater combination
and later, pathani-style kurtas with arm bands" completing the rockstar
look, as the designer said, "I dress the character in what the character
can afford." [15] The film's lead actress, Nargis Fakhri, who plays the role of a Kashmiri Pandit girl, will be seen wearing a traditional Kashmiri Pandit wedding outfit. Great attention was given to detail in portraying a typical Kashmiri Pandit
bride, with Nargis wearing the traditional Pandit Pheran, Dejhor (ear
ornament worn by Kashmiri Pandit brides) and Taranga (head cap worn
underneath the veil by Kashmiri Pandit brides).[16] This also happens to be the first time in Bollywood that a Kashmiri Pandit wedding was shown.[17]
[edit] Soundtrack
Main article: Rockstar (soundtrack)
The music for the film is scored by A. R. Rahman replacing Imtiaz Ali's previous associate, Pritam. The soundtrack features 14 tracks overall,[18] with all lyrics penned by Irshad Kamil. Mohit Chauhan had lent his voice for nine songs. The audio rights were bought by T-Series.[19] According to Rahman, Rockstar is "a character driven film and as one can guess from the title, there will be lots of guitar".[20] Rockstar is a musical journey that sails through classical rock, ballads, Gujarati folk, the Sufi music and even a gypsy note from an unheard Czech tradition.[21]
Release
Rockstar released on on 11 November 2011, saw good advance opening at multiplexes closer to colleges and universities or other big educational institutes.[22] The film released with 2,500 screens, and saw cinema halls running 14 to 15 shows in a day.[23]
Controversies
Major parts of the song "Saadda Haq" was shot at the Norbulingka monastery in McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala. People waving the Free Tibet flag in the backdrop was shown in the song video. This triggered a dispute between Central Board of Film Certification
and Imtiaz Ali when the Board ordered Ali to blur the flag and free
Tibet slogan before the film hit the theatre, but the director refused
to do it. Imtiaz Ali said, "I am not concerned at all. I have been out
of India for long and don’t know whats going on, but I don’t see
anything controversial in the intention portrayal in the movie. The
purpose of the movie is not to make any social message, its more about
personal freedom rather than a geographical issue."[24]
However, Ali had to remove the sequence from the video to get the
film's censor done. Later an official from the Board stated: "The Censor
Board chief explained to them that all the cuts were made by the
director voluntarily,and he had the option of appealing to a review
board which he didn’t do. There were certain discussions between
(Imtiaz) Ali and the Board regarding retaining a kiss between two actors
(Ranbir and Nargis), but there have been no disagreement regarding
deleting the flag from the frames." Deletion of the Tibetan flag from
the video sparked protests among the Tibetan diaspora in Dharamsala and Chennai.[25][26]
Critical response
Rockstar received positive to mixed reviews upon release.[5] Raja Sen of Rediff.com gave the film four stars out of five and wrote, "Rockstar
is a simple, unspectacular tale, sometimes even predictable, but
director Imtiaz Ali masterfully weaves in details that draw us in."[27] Aniruddha Guha of DNA too gave the film 4 out of five stars mentioning that Rockstar is as fulfilling as an effective crescendo.[28] Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India
also gave the film four out of five stars and stated that the film is
above average: "[...] The film rocks partially, thanks to the star
called Ranbir Kapoor."[29][30] Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com gave the film 3.5 stars out of five and said, "Rockstar is flawed but fabulous."[31] Mayank Shekhar of Hindustan Times also rated 3.5 out of 5 stars and noted "The canvas is wide like early Sanjay Leela Bhansali's; bird's view of the stunning bridge is very Mani Ratnam; witty, earthy dialogues are so Vishal Bhardwaj.
Director Imitiaz Ali manages to retain a personal, auteur's touch in a
genre vastly commercial, mainstream. This is a rare feat."[32] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, and said "On the whole, Rockstar does not live up to the confidence and expectations from the otherwise very skilled and accomplished film-maker Imtiaz Ali."[33] Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN also gave the film 3 stars out of 5, saying "Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar is a far-from-perfect film, but it has honesty and depth, which is mostly missing in Hindi movies today."[34] Mansha Rastogi of Nowrunning.com rated it 3 out of 5 stars stating that "Rockstar
may not be one of the finest attempts but is definitely worth a watch
for its pleasing first half and the ace performance of Ranbir Kapoor." [35]
Sumit Bhattacharya of Rediff.com gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5, saying that "Rockstar is what is called a one-time watch", and highlighted that the film is more Devdas than Jim Morrison.[36] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV too gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, and said "Rockstar has a Sufi soul. If only it had been set free and allowed to go the whole hog!"[37] Kaveree Bamzai of India Today
gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and said "AR Rahman's music is the soul
of the film. What is missing is the spine, leaving just a jelly in
place."[38] Komal Nahta of Koimoi.com again gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5, and said, "Rockstar
will meet with a mixed response: one section of the audience (mainly
youngsters in the cities) will love it while another section (mainly the
single-screen audience and public of smaller cities) will find it
ordinary."[39] A reviewer from Reuters commented that Rahman and Ranbir are the stars of the film while saying "Rockstar works on so many levels, but it fails miserably on so many more."[40] Yahoo! gave the film 1 star out of 5, and said "Rockstar drives home an unscientific hypothesis that people who’ve endured sufferings/heart break etc will reach their creative best."[41]
Box office
India
Upon release, Rockstar saw a very good opening. The film
opened to a good response at multiplexes with collections averaging in
the 60–70% range, however single screens witnessed a lower capacity at
around 30–40%.[42] Rockstar collected 10 crore (US$2 million) nett on its opening day, thus becoming the second highest opener after Ready in the non-festival season.[6][43] The good opening was attributed to the multiplexes across cities, and to the star power of Ranbir Kapoor as well as the youthful theme of the film.[6] The film showed growth on Saturday by grossing 11.25 crore (US$2.24 million) nett, therefore taking its two-day net total to 20.5 crore (US$4.09 million) [44] Rockstar saw similar growth on Sunday, and hence first weekend collection ended at 33.75 crore (US$6.73 million) nett, with best business from Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Bangalore.[45] Rockstar opened well on Monday collecting around 5.75 crore (US$1.15 million) nett, with 40% drop compared to first day collections, thus taking the four-day total to 39 crore (US$7.78 million) nett.[46] The film collection saw noticeable fall on Tuesday even at multiplexes as the film collected around 4.25 crore (US$847,875) nett, with five days collection totaled at 43.25 crore (US$8.63 million) nett.[47] At the end of first week, the film had a good collection by grossing 47.46 crore (US$9.47 million) nett, though the film had found appreciation only with a small section of the audience.[48] In the process, the film ranked ninth in the top ten all-time first week domestic collection.[49]
10 crore (US$2 million) nett on its opening day, thus becoming the second highest opener after Ready in the non-festival season.[6][43] The good opening was attributed to the multiplexes across cities, and to the star power of Ranbir Kapoor as well as the youthful theme of the film.[6] The film showed growth on Saturday by grossing 11.25 crore (US$2.24 million) nett, therefore taking its two-day net total to 20.5 crore (US$4.09 million) [44] Rockstar saw similar growth on Sunday, and hence first weekend collection ended at 33.75 crore (US$6.73 million) nett, with best business from Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Bangalore.[45] Rockstar opened well on Monday collecting around 5.75 crore (US$1.15 million) nett, with 40% drop compared to first day collections, thus taking the four-day total to 39 crore (US$7.78 million) nett.[46] The film collection saw noticeable fall on Tuesday even at multiplexes as the film collected around 4.25 crore (US$847,875) nett, with five days collection totaled at 43.25 crore (US$8.63 million) nett.[47] At the end of first week, the film had a good collection by grossing 47.46 crore (US$9.47 million) nett, though the film had found appreciation only with a small section of the audience.[48] In the process, the film ranked ninth in the top ten all-time first week domestic collection.[49]
The film on second Friday grossed 2.50 crore (US$498,750) nett, with 75% drop compared to first day.[50] On Saturday, the film had collected 3.25 crore (US$648,375) nett, while 4.25 crore (US$847,875) nett on Sunday, taking the second weekend collection totaled at 10 crore (US$2 million), representing a 70% drop from its first weekend. As of ten days, the film had grossed approximately 57.46 crore (US$11.46 million) nett.[51] Rockstar had grossed 15.85 crore (US$3.16 million) nett in the second week, declining by 67% and taking the two week collection totaled at 63.31 crore (US$12.63 million) nett.[52] The film on week three managed to gross 2.96 crore (US$590,520), and hence taking three weeks collection to 66.27 crore (US$13.22 million).[52][53] By the end of its fifth week, the film grossed 67.49 crore (US$13.46 million) nett.
2.50 crore (US$498,750) nett, with 75% drop compared to first day.[50] On Saturday, the film had collected 3.25 crore (US$648,375) nett, while 4.25 crore (US$847,875) nett on Sunday, taking the second weekend collection totaled at 10 crore (US$2 million), representing a 70% drop from its first weekend. As of ten days, the film had grossed approximately 57.46 crore (US$11.46 million) nett.[51] Rockstar had grossed 15.85 crore (US$3.16 million) nett in the second week, declining by 67% and taking the two week collection totaled at 63.31 crore (US$12.63 million) nett.[52] The film on week three managed to gross 2.96 crore (US$590,520), and hence taking three weeks collection to 66.27 crore (US$13.22 million).[52][53] By the end of its fifth week, the film grossed 67.49 crore (US$13.46 million) nett.Overseas
Rockstar managed to gross $1.65 million from all overseas markets, which was termed below the mark. The film collected £1,85,000 in UK, $6,12,000 in North America, $3,70,000 in UAE and $1,00,000 in Australia.[54]
Accolades
|
|---|
| h Annual Colour Screen Awards[56] | Best Actor | Ranbir Kapoor | Won |
| Best Music | A.R Rahman | Won | |
| Best Male Playback | Mohit Chauhan – Sadda Haq | Won | |
| Best Lyricist | Irshad Kamil – Nadaan Parindey | Nominated | |
| Best Lyricist | Irshad Kamil – Sadda Haq | Nominated | |
| Best Cinematography | Anil Mehta | Nominated | |
| Best Sound Design | Dilip Subramanium | Nominated | |
| Best Production Design | Arcopolis and Sumit Basu | Nominated | |
| Best Actor(Popular Choice) | Ranbir Kapoor | Nominated |
| ee Cine Awards 2012[57] | Best Actor – Male | Ranbir Kapoor | Won |
| Best Director | Imtiaz Ali | Won | |
| Best Film | Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd | Nominated | |
| Best Playback Singer – Male | Mohit Chauhan – Jo Bhi Main | Won | |
| Best Music | A.R Rahman | Won | |
| Best Lyrics | Irshad Kamil – Rockstar | Won | |
| Best Editing | Aarti Bajaj | Won | |
| Best Screenplay | Imtiaz Ali | Won | |
| Best Song | Sadda Haq | Nominated |
| 7th Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards[58][59][60] | Best Actor | Ranbir Kapoor | Won |
| Best Playback Singer Male | Mohit Chauhan – Sadda Haq | Won | |
| Best Music | A.R Rahman | Won | |
| Best lyricist | Irshad Kamil – Rockstar | Won | |
| Best Film | Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd | Nominated | |
| Best Director | Imtiaz Ali | Nominated | |
| Best Playback Singer Female | Harshdeep Kaur – Katiya Karu | Nominated | |
| Best Actress in Supporting Role | Aditi Rao Hydari | Nominated | |
| Best Screenplay | Imtiaz Ali | Nominated | |
| Best Cinematography | Anil Mehta | Nominated | |
| Best Sound Design | Dilip Subramanium | Nominated | |
| Best Sound Mixing | Alok De & Dileep Subramanium | Nominated |
| 57th Filmfare Awards[61] | Best Film | Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd | Nominated |
| Best Director | Imtiaz Ali | Nominated | |
| Best Actor | Ranbir Kapoor | Won | |
| Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor | Ranbir Kapoor | Won | |
| Best Music | A.R Rahman | Won | |
| Best Lyricist | Irshad Kamil – Nadaan Parindey & Sadda haq | Won | |
| Best Male Playback Singer | Mohit Chauhan – Sadda Haq & Jo Bhi Main | Won | |
| Best Female Playback Singer | Harshdeep Kaur – Katiya Karu | Nominated |
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