Director: Imtiaz Ali

Rating: 4/5

A beautiful & soulful musical journey of music, love & life...

"Every successful artist in the history has had one thing in common... Pain! Where there is pain, more refined, pure music comes out, on its own..." but in Rockstar, that pain can not only be experienced  through its music, but also through the entire movie; it is as if even the director wanted to let out some of his anguish, some of his pain leading to a masterpiece. Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar is a beautiful blend of such pain & music...love & life!

With so much hype, Rockstar had raised my expectations to the very peak and thankfully, the movie didn't disappoint at all, in fact it exceeded all my expectations.  Never has Indian filmmaking left an impression on me so much, that I literally wanted to get up and applaud & go and congratulate the director.

Rockstar is the story of Janardan Jakhar (RanbirKapoor) aka JJ...aka Jordan, it is the story of Kashmir ki kali- Heer (NargisFakri), it is the story of fame & shame, love & loss, it is the story of music, in fact, it is a beautiful musical story. History is witness to all the eternal, yet, unsuccessful love stories like Heer-Ranjha, Romeo-Juliet and now Jordan-Heer's love story will go down in history. Such is the power of this movie that, it will make you believe in all those make-believe characters.

Jordan & Heer are best friends, perfect for each other but both are not yet ready to accept it and Heer gets married soon. Jordan then gets busy chasing his dream to become someone who is as sensational as Jim Morrison. But success comes with a price and Jordan's success assures him maximum possible damage. His love, his life, his peace, his sanity...everything is challenged. To see how the story of this music man unfolds is definitely a remarkable experience...

The movie will initially lead you to believe that it goes in the typical flashback mode followed by a deadly climax and a life-changing happy ending but luckily for us, none of that happens! The flashback, flash-forwards are so beautifully merged that there is no in-the-face demarcation (Kuch saal baad... or 10 years later, etc...is not used) between the two. The narrative is so captivating that you will be completely engrossed in the movie & maybe you might even want to scream "Jordan...Jordan..." just like the crowds at his concerts.

Ranbir Kapoor has done a fabulous job. The pain, the angst with which he has played the role, you instantly know that he has understood the character so well, that it is, as if he actually is living the on-screen Jordan's life. This is probably Ranbir's best work till date. Nargis Fakri is extremely pretty, talented and has the potential to do many such meaningful films in the future. The rest of the cast is overshadowed by Ranbir- the latest Rockstar on the block! Shammi Kapoor's presence in the movie makes it even more beautiful.

The movie has the perfect music to justify its title. It is absolutely soul stirring, mesmerizing and the extremely beautiful & heartwarming songs take you to another level.

One of the most impressive things about this film is that, the problems, the turmoil, the sorrow and Jordan's pain don't accompany drugs & excessive drinking. Not every artist or successful person necessarily destroys himself after bouts of depression, by taking drugs. The film has been made in such a way that it has a documentary-feel to it but still, nowhere does it get boring or feel like you are watching a documentary on History Channel. The technique used is very unconventional and it is probably the first time that any Indian director has played around with this type of filmmaking. There is drama, but not melodrama...there is a bio-pic-like touch but not boring...

Through Rockstar, beautiful music, superb editing, skillful direction & excellent acting, have come together to create a "Rockstar" of a movie.