Movie Review: 'Rockstar' Rocks - Romantic, Intense but not Melodramatic!

When I had seen trailers of 'Rockstar' I had thought the movie was about a rebellious singer who was first a victim of and then voice against violence in Kashmir! Pardon my ignorance, but there is a special thrill about watching a movie without even knowing the plot!

Rockstar is not about any political issue (despite the repeated appearance of cops, crowds and Kashmir in the trailers), it is an intense story about feelings, destiny, and a bit of struggle between rightdoing and wrongdoing! And it is also about how these feelings and destiny transform Janardan Jakra (JJ), a simple boy aspiring to be a singer, to Jordan, a world-famous rockstar with a streaks of anger. Yes, you may wonder how it all happened that fast, but you will still end up believing it in parts. JJ (Ranbir), a middle-class and simple Hindu college student is told that one cannot become a singer unless he experiences pain! He tries to befriend Heer (Nargis), a rich, classy and talented Stephenian hoping she will reject him and he will go through the pain of refusal. Heer instead turns out to be a bold and fun-seeking girl who has a list of things that she wants to do before she gets married in two months! The two become friends and JJ helps her in accomplishing her entire things to do list. Heer then gets married and moves to Prague. The rest of the movie is to be guessed or watched and don't worry you do get to see more of the pretty Nargis.

If you like love, rebelliousness, and breaking a few rules here and there and you will like this movie. The opening scene where the uncommitted, angry Jordan overcomes a fight and then reaches his concert with thousands of fans waving and roaring at him was impressive. He did not care about fame or money, he sang because he liked singing. The movie is fast-paced with some humour and fun here and there. You don't even get to know how time flies till the interval. Post interval the movie becomes intense and portrays how love on one hand can cure you and on the other hand can give you immense pain that that can completely change you as a person. It also portrays how feelings and emotions do not quite follow conventions. The best part of the whole plot has been treated with maturity and not melodrama. And it never really loses its pace. The cinematography is breathtaking while they fly you over the mountains of Kashmir, Prague buildings, and the places where Jordan goes for his concerts.

The movie belongs to Ranbir who gives yet another touching performance like ‘Wake Up Sid’. He really steals your heart. Nargis Fakri is very pretty and fresh but lacks the acting talent that the pivotal role demanded. She was pretty bad actually. But I am hoping she will improve with time. There were a few other bad actors too. The film gets haphazard and unreal in a few places, actually even jumps at times, but somehow the story track and intensity never lost and at the same time there are some light moments too. The casting and editing could be better in a few places, but it still leaves an impact on your mind. AR Rahman’s sound track impresses once again. Most of the tracks are in the background. In fact some of the songs were more meaningful and likeable when flowing with the movie rather than hearing them standalone on FM .

What a change from Ra.One! We finally see some serious cinema treated with maturity. Despite some bad acting and flaws in the flow of the story, this movie is definitely worth your time and money!

My Rating: 3.5/5