Rock star Review: A film with soul but not without flaws

Rock star showcases the journey of Janardhan Jakhard a jat delhi boy who strums his guitar in campus hangot spots , bus tops etc to how he becomes  Jordan a Rockstar who gets everything he dreamt of but yet is frustrated, unhappy and often resorts to violent

Bursts as he is missing his love heer (Nargis Fakhri) separated by Traditions, society and norms and one day dream to go and live in a world which has no good and no bad.

The first 30 mins or so of the film has its Laugh of Loud moments as Janardhan is advised by his friend that one can’t create great music until one’s heart is broken and until one goes through Pain in life, heeding this advice Janardhan sets up to break his heart

By trying for the most sought  after girl Heer in the campus but in the process of doing this both janardhan and heer  become best buddies and this portion of the film once again shows Imtiaz’s core strength to create a crackling chemistry between his leads which is evident in

all his films.

Infact it is Love and Pain which brings out the best music out from Jordan as he  realizes how much he loves heer only after they get separated as heer is married and goes to Prauge. Rock star is essentially a complex love story with music as the backdrop.

What makes this love story interesting however is Imtiaz ali’s screenplay as the story unfolds in a non linear manner moving back and forth multiple times narrated with some Heart thumping music from AR Rahman which reflects the mood of Jordan.

However the film is not without flaws especially in the second hour where it slows down and some scenes looks repetitive and script looks haphazard as some antics of Jordan look little silly and un reasonable. Imtiaz ali is  able but he is not in full command as was the case with

Jab we met, and ultimately the film belongs to Ranbir Kapoor one can’t help but has to become a fan of him after this effortless performance of a complex transformation from Janardhan to Jordan.  Look at the scene where he mocks as if his heart is broken entering the canteen and argues over the chutney for samosa’s, or the way he operates on the stage for the song SADDA HAQ he completely owns the song and makes you believe he is singing the song himself.

One the whole Rockstar is a film with Soul but not without flaws. I will give 3 stars one for IMTIAZ ali, one for Ranbir and one for AR Rahman. It’s kind of film which stays with you even after you leave the hall.

–         Vidyuth.