Critics' verdict: Rockstar gets mixed reviews

"Alas! Rockstar is a sumptuously shot movie that is disjointed on script level. The problem with Rockstar is that it starts off most impressively, has some terrific moments in between, but the writing gets so erratic and incoherent as it heads towards the conclusion that you wonder, am I really watching an Imtiaz Ali film?" "What you take back from Rockstar are some terrific moments, a bravura performance (Ranbir Kapoor is a class apart!)and of course, AR Rahman's musical score. Wish one could carry the entire film back in our hearts!," feels Adarsh.

Kaveree Bamzai, India Today, pays a compliment to the film saying that the music is integrated very well with the script. She writes, "Ali has crafted the film as one long song, and nowhere in recent times has the music integrated so well with what he is trying to say. Whether it is Kun Faaya Kun where Janardhan discovers the power of music, or the gorgeous jugalbandi between Shammi Kapoor on shehnai and Ranbir on guitar where you can see two different kinds of talent on display--one natural, almost animal-like, another refined, spiritually-inclined--AR Rahman's music is the soul of the film. What is missing is the spine, leaving just a jelly in place."

Saibal Chatterjee, NDTV.com has an interesting observation to make. He says, "The film, nearly three hours long, traverses long physical distances – from Delhi to Kashmir and from there to Prague and then back again to Delhi as JJ follows his lady love (who gets married quickly enough and settles down to drab matrimony in faraway Czech Republic to make matters difficult) halfway around the world, singing and dancing his woes away. But despite all the frenetic movement in space that Rockstar offers, the film really goes nowehere. It feels strangely static."

Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India goes gaga over the film terming it as an "engaging affair". She writes, "The fact that this romance unfolds on screen in the form of an explosive musical, capturing JJ’s transmutation into Jordan, the edgy artist, makes the film an absolutely engaging affair. The vocals by Mohit Chauhan, the lyrics by Irshad Kamil and the music by AR Rahman are stuff classics are made of. Of course, Sadda Haq is the youth anthem by now, but there are so many beautiful tracks in the film, you get heady and stirred. Ranbir Kapoor displays an amazing growth chart as a performer as he gradually changes from a two-sizes-too-tight jean-clad upstart to a musical genius seared by a love that threatens to scorch his very soul. Nargis Fakhri too stands tall as the delectable Heer who sizzles on screen with her unconventional ways. But eventually, the film is a milestone in Ranbir Kapoor’s career as an actor and a classic cut from the AR Rahman and Mohit Chauhan combo. Shammi Kapoor’s presence as the classical artist enhances the gravitas of the film."

Aniruddha Guha, DNA, feels the film has blended romance with dark reality very well. He writes, "For about 15 minutes in Rockstar, the narrative tends to resort to ‘Bollywoodism’; true love having the power to cure a terminal illness (almost), for example, doesn’t exactly fit with what the rest of the film has to say. Yet, Imtiaz makes it work somehow, interweaving the fantastical romantic part of the film with the more gritty, dark bits deftly. In the end, how much you enjoy Rockstar will largely depend on whether the balance between the story of a broken, unfulfilled musician and the more conventional love story works for you."

Performances Taran Adarsh on Ranbir Kapoor: The secret behind Ranbir's triumph is that he puts his heart and mind into every project he chooses to perform in. Love, resentment, pain, hurt... Ranbir brings a multitude of feelings to his character. It's a role of a lifetime and Ranbir is sure to be immortalized in this story of a rockstar. He glides into the character effortlessly, so much so that you see very little of Ranbir, the actor and more of Janardan/Jordan, the character he represents. His performance is beyond extraordinary.

Taran Adarsh on Nargis: Nargis is a stunner as far as looks are concerned, but isn't persuasive in poignant moments. However, the chemistry between Ranbir and Nargis is exhilarating. Shammi Kapoor is superb in a small but significant role. Aditi Rao Hydari suffers due to an undeveloped characterization. Kumud Mishra is splendid. What a fine actor! Piyush Mishra is, as always, exceptional. Shernaz Patel enacts her part well.

Rituparna Chatterjee (IBNLive) on Ranbir-Nargis: Nargis Fakhri's acting leaves much to be desired. At the heart of the film are the dialogue. Really witty and crisp. But Nargis' acting grates on the nerves. Ranbir Kapoor is a revelation. His slow transformation from a dimwit looking for a heartbreak to an elusive star is excellent. Nargis and Ranbir work visually as a couple but her stuttered acting is as infuriating as Ranbir's is endearing.

Conclusion "On the whole, Rockstar does not live up to the confidence and expectations from the otherwise very skilled and accomplished film-maker Imtiaz Ali. The film suffers immensely due to a disorderly screenplay, especially in its post-interval portions. However, the silver lining or the comforting prospect is the virtuoso performance by Ranbir Kapoor and the captivating score by AR Rahman, which justify that one extra star," Adarsh sums it up.

ROCKSTAR MOVIE REVIEW by Saibal Chatterjee

Gangly Haryanvi lad from Pitampura wants to be a present-day Jim Morrison. So he strums his guitar and sings to waiting commuters at a Delhi bus stand. The result: he is abused and slapped by a cop for his temerity.

Back in his college canteen, the wannabe rockstar wonders aloud why merely belting out an innocuous song at a bus stand should be such an offence when JM not only got away with a defiant middle-finger salute but was also feted for the act. Well, such are the ways of the world.

By the end of the film, the boy does get his own back and flashes his middle finger to the world. It’s time to run for cover because Rockstar takes eons to make its point.

Janaradan Jakhar (Ranbir Kapoor) – his friends at Hindu College call him JJ – is a rotten seed for his ultra-conservative family. So all he receives at home is scorn and ridicule.

The owner of the college canteen, where the young man whiles away his time day-dreaming over endless plates of samosas, tells him he cannot be the path-breaking musician that he wants to be until he experiences genuine pain and heartbreak.

The rest of Rockstar, a film that skates on rather thin ice, is about the protagonist’s search for genuine love and life-altering tragedy beyond the barriers of conventional morality.

JJ finds both love and loss in the form of the rich and statuesque Heer, a Kashmiri girl who blows hot and cold, as he mutates into a rockstar, Jordan. A rebel is born.

The film, nearly three hours long, traverses long physical distances – from Delhi to Kashmir and from there to Prague and then back again to Delhi as JJ follows his lady love (who gets married quickly enough and settles down to drab matrimony in faraway Czech Republic to make matters difficult) halfway around the world, singing and dancing his woes away.

But despite all the frenetic movement in space that Rockstar offers, the film really goes nowehere. It feels strangely static.

However, in its initial build-up, informed with a robust sense of quirky humour, Rockstar shows a fair degree of promise.

Ranbir Kapoor, as JJ, makes a go for it with infectious intent. He gets the lingo and diction right; the gawky gait is delightfully apt.

Nargis Fakhri as the seemingly straight-laced but ‘wild at heart’ girl who decides to give vent to her repressed desires before her imminent wedding also hits the right notes.

Some of the more enjoyable moments in the film pan out when the girl drags JJ to Amar Tallkies in Old Delhi to watch a sleazy film titled Junglee Jawani and follows that up with a no-holds-barred country liquor binge.

Sadly, the narrative, lacks the substance that a film as long as this would have needed to sustain itself.

In Prague, when JJ and Heer meet again, they go to a strip show to relive the Old Delhi moments. Unfortunately, from the audience’s point of view, the sparks don’t quite achieve the same intensity.

JJ’s transformation from a simple-minded lad to a super-successful rock performer and his struggle to cope with the pressures of mass adulation springs no surprises. Neither does Heer’s suppressed urge for freedom.

Rockstar is a gig gone wrong. And that is sad. For there is much in the film that is worth commending. Anil Mehta’s cinematography is flawless all the way through, across the varied locations, settings and moods.

AR Rahman’s outstandingly lively and eclectic musical score presents a wide range of sounds blended into a harmonious whole.

Ranbir’s Shammi Kapoor act on a boat on the Dal Lake (he sings Chand Sa Roshan Chehra) is probably worth the price of the ticket, if the recently deceased Bollywood icon’s cameo in the film isn’t.

Moreover, writer-director Imtiaz Ali’s sensibility ensures that Rockstar, for the most part, steers well clear of the cliches that usually hound the average Bollywood love story.

When did you last see a full-on Mumbai musical that sang about the birds that have flown away never to return to the concrete jungles that our cities have become and then connects the fate of these winged creatures to that of all uprooted and oppressed people?

Rockstar has a Sufi soul. If only it had been set free and allowed to go the whole hog!


Read more at:

ROCKSTAR MOVIE REVIEW by Taran Adarsh

Rock based movies are revered and admired in Hollywood, but Bollywood hasn't been too kind to this genre. Vipul Shah's LONDON DREAMS failed to cut ice, despite the presence of top notch names, but ROCK ON! was a moderate success, with the urban audiences giving the film a second and third dekho. The film couldn't penetrate into the heartland, though.

Imtiaz Ali has always managed to strike the right balance between the hoi polloi and the gentry. Movies like JAB WE MET and LOVE AAJKAL are proof that the enormously talented raconteur won't attempt a film if he's not fully convinced about it. Known for his imaginative and inventive take on love stories, Imtiaz takes up yet another challenge with ROCKSTAR. The story of a rebellious singer/musician, it traces his journey of love, anguish, ego, trouble, sorrow and devastation. A difficult path to tread, no doubt, but Imtiaz could be a game changer, if the film strikes a chord. Alas! ROCKSTAR is a sumptuously shot movie that is disjointed on script level.

Write your own movie review of Rockstar Let's get to the root of the problem. We are used to watching films that have a beginning, middle and end. The problem with ROCKSTAR is that it starts off most impressively, has some terrific moments in between, but the writing gets so erratic and incoherent as it heads towards the conclusion that you wonder, am I really watching an Imtiaz Ali film? I mean, even the naysayers would agree that Imtiaz Ali is a super storyteller and his movies have been talked about [and also remain etched in our memory] due to varied factors, the written material being one of the paramount reasons.


What you take back from ROCKSTAR are some terrific moments, a bravura performance [Ranbir Kapoor is a class apart!] and of course, A.R. Rahman's musical score. Wish one could carry the entire film back in our hearts!

Janardan [Ranbir Kapoor], born and brought up in the very middle class locality of Delhi, has a larger than life dream -- of being a rockstar like Jim Morrison! But all he gets from his reluctant audience is ridicule and humiliation. He's at his wit's end, when he realizes that all musical stars, all artists in fact, have one thing in common. And that is tragedy. They all have tragic lives. They have all suffered painful heartbreaks to become what they are. Alas, there is no pain in Janardan's life. Unless he does something drastic, he will never become a rockstar.

Heer [Nargis Fakhri] is the undisputed diva of the college campus -- beautiful, talented, arrogant, rich and unavailable. She has broken many hearts. Janardan hopes she will break his heart too. He sets out to woo Heer with the sole object of getting his heart broken.

ROCKSTAR traces the journey of a boy who leaves behind Janardan to become Jordan, who traverses the highs and lows of life -- from simple naiveté to tortured soul, from the campus in Delhi to the international stage… He ultimately gets all that his heart has ever desired, but in the process shatters/loses his heart forever.

It's evident that ROCKSTAR seeks inspiration for the story from the iconic, charismatic and popular Jim Morrison. With a capable director like Imtiaz Ali at the helm, one expects ROCKSTAR to be a cult movie in this genre. But the film falters after an impressive start, after you are introduced to the four pivotal characters in the story -- Ranbir, Nargis, Kumud Mishra [Ranbir's confidante] and Piyush Mishra [owner of a music company].

Narrated in flashback, the writing gets erratic as you delve deeper and deeper. The film begins with a few people bashing up Ranbir and one expects the reasons for this fight to come to the fore as the reels unfold. But the sequence remains unexplained even after the movie concludes. Sequences that depict Ranbir's unpredictable and inconsistent behavior are inexplicable as well. The major mood swings -- he's cool as a cucumber at times, but turns irritable and furious immediately -- is also baffling. His relationship with Heer is inconsistent as well. He comes across as an extremely mystified individual. Ranbir's portions in Prague [including meeting Nargis on arrival there] look unreal. The end to the tale is most worrisome. It's an open end, with the audience not really knowing what actually happened to one of the central characters. In fact, the second hour is stretched without valid reason and that makes it a tedious watch.

One expects Imtiaz Ali to outshine his previous works, but he doesn't. Sure, he explores the emotional depths with immense compassion and also draws bravura performances from the central characters, especially Ranbir Kapoor. But let's not disregard the fact that every film depends on a watertight screenplay and ROCKSTAR stumbles and fumbles in this department. At the same time, there are moments that are spectacular and brilliantly executed. The sequence between Shammi Kapoor and Ranbir [when introduced in the music company office] is super. Ditto for a particular sequence featuring Piyush Mishra; he's taking a massage and talking to Ranbir concurrently. Even the sequence when Ranbir tears apart the agreement and throws it at Piyush Mishra is fantastic. A few more individualistic scenes reiterate the fact that Imtiaz Ali is a genius!

Music maestro A.R. Rahman's music is scintillating. ROCKSTAR is about the progression of a musician from India and the songs not only tell his story, but also track his journey from a nobody to a somebody. It must've been a challenge for Rahman to depict the emotional catharsis a rockstar undergoes and the tracks, I wish to add, aren't the typical Rahman numbers either. While some of the songs ['Sadda Haq'] will be loved instantly, a few others will take time to grow on you.

Anil Mehta's cinematography is top notch. Every frame is picture perfect, a painting on celluloid. Dialogue deserve special mention. They are straight out of life.

The secret behind Ranbir's triumph is that he puts his heart and mind into every project he chooses to perform in. Love, resentment, pain, hurt... Ranbir brings a multitude of feelings to his character. It's a role of a lifetime and Ranbir is sure to be immortalized in this story of a rockstar. He glides into the character effortlessly, so much so that you see very little of Ranbir, the actor and more of Janardan/Jordan, the character he represents. His performance is beyond extraordinary.

Nargis is a stunner as far as looks are concerned, but isn't persuasive in poignant moments. However, the chemistry between Ranbir and Nargis is exhilarating. Shammi Kapoor is superb in a small but significant role. Aditi Rao Hydari suffers due to an undeveloped characterization. Kumud Mishra is splendid. What a fine actor! Piyush Mishra is, as always, exceptional. Shernaz Patel enacts her part well.

On the whole, ROCKSTAR does not live up to the confidence and expectations from the otherwise very skilled and accomplished film-maker Imtiaz Ali. The film suffers immensely due to a disorderly screenplay, especially in its post-interval portions. However, the silver lining or the comforting prospect is the virtuoso performance by Ranbir Kapoor and the captivating score by A.R. Rahman, which justify that one extra star.

Rockstar MOVIE REVIEW by Sumit Bhattacharya

Rockstar is more Devdas than Jim Morrison



Ranbir Kapoor's new film is a love story that tries to pose as an insight into an artiste's anguish, feels Sumit Bhattacharya.

Director Imtiaz Ali's new film Rockstar has two heroes: Ranbir Kapoor, and A R Rahman .

Kapoor, who many believe is Bollywood's next big Kapoor, delivers an impressive performance, portraying with aplomb the buffoonish Janardhan Jhakar, who no one takes seriously, and the grim 'rock star' Jordan who Janardhan becomes.

And Rahman goes on overdrive with a background score that lifts the film with every dive bomb (presumably by woman shred guitar star Orianthi, who you can see perform with Michael Jackson on the This is It documentary, and who has played on Rockstar's song Sadda Haq).

The film is beautifully shot in wonderful locales, and pleasing to the ear too. Prague, one presumes, will soon be inundated with more Indian tourists following in Ranbir and Nargis Fakhri's footsteps.

Apart from the standout background score, Rahman's songs, as usual, take on new life with the visuals. Nargis -- who, to borrow Janardhan's words, looks superhot and supercool -- and Ranbir glow in their scenes together. The dialogue is funny (Bugger off, she says. Burger off? He wonders). Some scenes are hilarious.

But don't let the title fool you. This movie is more an old-school Bollywood love story than the advent of heavy metal in Hindi cinema. Jordan is more like Devdas than his idol Jim Morrison.

On the surface, the film is about a guitar-toting dimwit transforming into an angry 'rock star', an expression that can perhaps give 'awesome' a run for being the most misused term in the English language (my boss sarcastically calls me rock star because I play guitar). But this film is devoid of any insight into an artiste's anguish, try as it might by quoting Jalaluddin Rumi.

There are shades of Jab We Met , in the sense that the first half is full of light-hearted moments between an unlikely pair (in this case Janardhan and Heera Kaul, played by Nargis) and that the second half is intense, with twists.

The film opens with Jordan making a true rock star entrance -- after a fight -- in a stadium concert in Prague. But why is Jordan, who has giant billboards in Eastern European countries and the following of a, say, Mahendra Singh Dhoni in India , so grim? What's his problem? That's what you will find out if you go see the movie.


The first half is full of promise; the gags are funny as you follow the lovably foolish Delhi college kid Janardhan Jhakar as he attempts to be the Robert Plant of Pitampura and goes out on secret excursions of all things taboo with his sophisticated, rich college mate Heera. Heera is getting married off to Prague soon, and she has a list of wild things she wants to try: Drinking desi alcohol, watching B-grade porn in seedy theatre halls, etcetera. Nice.

But the realism disappears before you can say Sadda Haq.

Janardhan becomes Jordan, a 'rock star' unlike this country has yet seen. (If you disagree, please show me a TV 'breaking news' clip about a non-film musician's love life, or paparazzi hounding any such musician with the regularity and alacrity as those in the film do to Jordan, or any front-page report about a non-film musician.)

The trigger is, of course, a broken heart, and a set of circumstances that are weird, if not bizarre.

I don't want to burden you too much with plot giveaways, but there really is no way a kid thrown out of his house and taking refuge in Nizamuddin Dargah can suddenly start playing a Gibson guitar, which costs anything upwards of Rs 50,000.

Such trivial problems with reality generally do not burden Bollywood films. But this one tries hard to be real and deep -- including lampooning the media, and with Kashmiris shouting Sadda Haq and blurred-out-by-Censor-Board Free Tibet posters -- and falls flat.

It tries to pose as an insight into an artiste's anguish, when it's just a candyfloss romance that even takes the drugs out of a film about a dark star.

What work are the performances. The characters are portrayed with care, and the late Shammi Kapoor plays a shehnai great who spots Janardhan's talent. Many will find sentimental value in the jam scene between him and his great nephew.

Die-hard romantics will find a lot to mush over. A fellow reviewer spotted a couple of teenagers at the Mumbai press show weeping buckets.

Many will swoon over Nargis, and the fairer sex will find Ranbir's transformation irresistible, and forgive the fact that his fingers don't move at all like someone who has been playing the guitar since childhood.

Or that throughout the movie he plays variety of gorgeous electric guitars without a cable -- or a wireless device -- attached to any of them. That's like trying to drive a car without fuel.

Again, that amounts to nitpicking in Bollywood, but in a movie that takes care to show the guitarist's pedal board, Fender amplifiers and the singer's in-ear stage monitors, that is just funny.

In a country obsessed with watching some movie or the other every weekend (that's what people do, right? Go to malls and/or watch a film), Rockstar is what is called a one-time watch.

Just don't expect too much.

Rockstar Movie Review by Viewers

Watched the premier show in sydney ... what a movie ...the movie was outstanding ..if i have to give rating than out of 5 it will be 4.5 ...a movie ..beyond expectation ...even as it was guru parva here in sydney ..Hall was crowded ...best part ...u will not feel there are 14 songs ... which i thought ..it may rune the story ...story ..direction ..every thing was out standing ...even the part of song lyrics was

changed in movie ..truely ..magical ... I can conclude u can compare dis movie withHum dil de chuke sanam..kuch kuch hota hai ..DDLJ..Jab we met

ROCKSTAR MOVIE REVIEW by Mayank Shekhar

ROCKSTAR MOVIE REVIEW by Khalid Mohammed