Rockstar is one movie that you really want to like from the onset - even when you haven't watched the trailers. It is difficult to believe that it is made by the same guy who introduced us to the talented Abhay Deol in "Tumsa Nahin Dekha", made us believe that Kareena too can act in "Jab We Met" and made kissing so mainstream in "Love Aaj Kal". When you see such great directorial talent paired with Ranveer Kapoor - you think what can go wrong! Apparently a lot...
I guess Rockstar may just go down as the movie that introduced us to "Bone Marrow Aplasia".
I would give the movie something like 2 stars. That is similar to what I gave Ra-1.
Let me clarify one thing though. I enjoyed Ra-1 more than Rockstar - but Rockstar has some amazing things going for it that salvage it to those 2 stars.
So -what works?
Ranveer Kapoor
He is outrightly one of the most talented actors in Bollywood right now. Not just that - he is willing to marry that talent with a lot of hard work which sort of seems unweildy for some so called stars. When you see him in Rockstar - you can see the transition from a small town ganwar boy to this quirky star who really doesn't give a damn about anything other than the loves of his life - singing and Heer. You can see that when he is on the screen singing - he is actually giving you the performance that you expect from a Rockstar. The world already knew that Ranveer was a star. But Rockstar will definitely elevate that to an actual "ROCKSTAR". His performance is just awesome - may be one of the best performances of the year. He may even count on this for a Filmfare this year - whatever disappointment the movie might be.
Music in general and Mohit Chauhan in particular
The music is very true to the story of JJ (Ranveer). And it is one of the few things that does not disappoint. One would definitely expect the music to be great given that it is composed by Rahman. But the biggest differentiator is Mohit Chauhan. He has come a long way from "Dooba Dooba" (his Silk Route days) to singing a full-fledged Bollywood album on his own. Prior to Rockstar - he did have a few singles here and there in various movies - some of them also earning him accolades and awards (Masakali from Delhi 6 and Khoon Chala from RDB), but this is his Magnum Opus. No single song might achieve the cult status that "Khoon Chala" has achieved - but as an album, this might just be the best work he ever does. It is doubtful that he will get the opportunity to outshine himself given that we have such amazing male singing talent sitting in Bollywood. And I don't mean that sarcastically - there really is some amazing male singing talent here.
But I guess the "What works" list ends there. And we get to what we are disappointed about.
Story
The story is a breath of fresh air in all the crap that comes along today. It's good to see such original stories - even though I can see why it might not be very popular amongst the masses. When one makes a story about a self-destructive star - it is easier to relate to when it is grounded on reality. If the character is totally fictional, it becomes that much more difficult for the audience to relate to. A real character - however fantastical he / she may be still has the appeal of "No - that really happened" (Raging Bull, Walk the line...). The character of JJ starts as a sweet likeable guy who morphs into this irritating idiot who has no idea what is going on around him. While that may be a possibility for a Rockstar - it becomes slightly difficult to digest.
I would still rate the story pretty high - despite what critique I might have.
Editing
This is by far the third worst thing in the movie (save Nargis and direction). I guess Imtiaz Ali ended up making a 4 hr movie and was stumped on how to convert it to a 150 min version. On more than occasion you end up thinking - what just happened. I really like the idea of a non-linear story - especially when it is well told. I am even a sucker for stories told in parts - but they need to be executed flawlessly (Pulp Fiction, Life in a Metro). But here, neither the non-linear story, nor the cut and recut editing work for the director.
Nargis Fakhri
Who decided to cast a 32 year has been model as a college girl. I know Bollywood has a problem with miscasting actors in unusually young roles (Aamir Khan in 3 Idiots), but we usually do not do that with actresses. And for heaven's sake, if you want to get a non-actress as your leading lady, make sure the role does not demand acting (that Brazilian model in Love Aaj Kal). This would have been a dream debut for a real actress but Nargis Fakhri just messed it all up so bad.
She is not made for acting. She is a pathetic actress. And she is not even a great dancer - ordinary at best. And she is not pretty enough for us to overlook all her flaws.
Seriously - how bad an actor does one have to be before the director says that's it- you’re done? Or how pretty does one have to be that the director says - I can even overlook all that? In either case, the verdict is simple. Fire her!!!
Imtiaz Ali - I think it's all your fault even though I keep on blaming Miss Fakhri.
Now for the worst - Direction
Such talent - put to such pathetic use. I guess Imtiaz Ali was suffering from a disease - which I like to call "Subhash Ghai syndrome”. This is close to what happened to Mr. Ghai during the making of Taal. Directors think they are totally in tune with the audience - and that is when they loose the grasp. This has happened to others in the past - most notably Sanjay Leela Bhansali (when he made the Blue Film - Sawaria) and less notably with Anurag Kashyap (when he made No Smoking). It is not so much as the director looses the grip on the audience, but the fact that there are multiple things that would tell him during making / editing / viewing / reviewing that something is terribly wrong. But the arrogance just refuses to accept. I am a visionary guy making my VISION. I like to call this part "I think I am Stanley Kubrick syndrome”.
Rockstar on some level -is a very narcissistic movie where Imtiaz Ali is so convinced that this is absolutely the right thing to do - that he refuses to believe otherwise. The result is an amazing performance by Ranveer Kapoor, amazing singing by Mohit Chauhan in an otherwise doomed film.
I sincerely hope that the next venture of Imtiaz Ali is more rooted in reality and is made up of slightly more believable characters, and has a good actress - you know the kind that can act!
