Welcome to the Imtiaz Ali brand of Hindi cinema; recall Jab We Met and Love Aajkal… Entertainment that is high on aesthetics and drama which is full of emotions and love. Enter Ranbir Kapoor, the most gifted young star with solo hits and excellent track record; recall Raajneeti, Wake up Sid and Rocket Singh. Add to it Nargis Fakhri, an attractive and fresh foreign face and recall the success of Katrina Kaif and Giselle Montiero. Add to this the last appearance of Shammi Kapoor and fantastic music of A.R.Rehman… you book the tickets in advance, buy pop corns and enter the theater with a high set of expectations.
Rockstar is the story of Jordan or JJ, a small time singer who wants to make it big on the rock music scene and his love story with Heer, the classy girl from the same college. It’s a tenderly told anecdote of complexities of human nature and its frailties when it comes to choosing between wrong and right or love and celebrity-hood. Interestingly, at no point, unlike other love stories, Imtiaz wants the audience to portray high moral values of the lead pair. In fact, they have imperfect personalities resulting into a flawed relationship with no possible explanation and that’s what makes the whole deal realistic. It is packed with some power house performances by the lead characters and some beautifully crafted scenes like the one where Jordan leaves his contracts and is found sitting among prostitutes in a red light area singing to them and says that’s what he always wanted. One of the strongest points of the film is the fact that music has been artistically entrenched in the story and last but not the least, humor is genuine and amusing.
But the question still remains; does it deliver as per the expectations? And the answer is no. Have a look at a few primary aspects of the films success or failure, whichever side you take up.
Imtiaz Ali’s experiment with Nargis Fakhri has fallen flat. Nargis has serious dialogue delivery issues and goes over the top on quite a few occasions which are not among the many traits of Imtiaz Ali film.Also, she is almost 33 and shows when she is playing a college student etc. Female lead of the film being unsuitable is surely a problem.However, the rise of the exceedingly charming Aditi Rao Hyadri in supporting cast saves the female side of the show. She is natural, beautiful and has excellent screen presence. All the more reason to look for her pairing with Ali Zafar in London, Paris, New York as her next.Piyush Mishra does an incredible job that one expects from a man of his standard. Other supporting cast is also appreciable, especially Kumud Mishra as JJ’s agent. Shammi Kapoor has a brief but unforgettable role. Graceful, respectable and heart warming.Honestly, the film totally belongs to Ranbir, and what an absolutely wonderful performance. Just a couple of years in the industry and he is already in a league of his own, much ahead of Imran or others. I hate to admit that he is even better than my personal favorite Shahid Kapoor and his results are also showing the same. It was a complex role but the ease with which Ranbir has carried it can give Aamir Khan run for his money. The image and persona of a rock star fit Ranbir perfectly and he pulled off the attitude and music in style. Champion, I’d say. Impressive.
One more impressive unit member is Anil Mehta behind the lens. An absolutely fantastic camera work from the true veteran. He has bettered his previous best Lagaan and HDDS by a huge margin. Light treatments in on-stage performance scenes are remarkable. Close-ups are detail oriented.
Despite the points mentioned above, it still is a beautiful film and worth a watch. In most likelihood, it’s the kind of film that will grow on the audience in multiple watches and has in it to become a long run cult classic. On a stand alone basis, its much better than several films produced this year. From Imtiaz’s perspective, it’s more like his directorial debut film Socha Na Tha that despite being a beautiful film lacked the excitement. Imtiaz’s next should be a step further not backward.
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