ROCKSTAR Reviews - ALL REVIEWS POST HERE

First Previous

Page

100

Next Last

Frequent Posters

134529

Suspended

Posted: 13 years ago

#241

bollywoodchska Latest BollywoodNews

Rockstar: RockstarRating- 8/10Direction:Imtiaz Ali is a genius. The film bears the stamp of an accomplished stor... bit.ly/uacKuQ

Favorite Retweet Reply

Quote

you2

@you2

Sparkler

+ 6

Posted: 13 years ago

#242

Review: Rockstar
(Drama)

Saibal Chatterjee

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Print | A+ A-

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Nargis Fakhri, Shammi Kapoor

Music: A R Rahman

Director: Imtiaz Ali

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!

Quote

Looks like you are new here. Register for free, learn and contribute.

you2

@you2

Sparkler

+ 6

Posted: 13 years ago

#243

Nov

Rockstar Movie Review

Welcome to the Imtiaz Ali brand of Hindi cinema; recall Jab We Met and Love Aajkal… Entertainment which is high on aesthetics and drama which is full of emotions and love. Enter Ranbir Kapoor, the most gifted young star with solo hits and excellent track record; recall Raajneeti, Wake up Sid and Rocket Singh. Add to it Nargis Fakhri, an attractive and fresh foreign face and recall the success of Katrina Kaif and Giselle Montiero. Add to this the last appearance of Shammi Kapoor and fantastic music of A.R.Rehman… you book the tickets in advance, buy pop corn and enter the theater with very high expectations.

Rockstar is the story of Jordan or JJ, a small time singer who wants to make it big on the rock music scene and his love story with Heer, the classy girl from the same college. It's a tenderly told anecdote of complexities of human nature and its frailties when it comes to choosing between wrong and right or love and celebrity. Interestingly, at no point, unlike other love stories, Imtiaz wants the audience to portray high moral values of the lead pair. In fact, they have imperfect personalities resulting into a flawed relationship with no possible explanation and that's what makes the whole deal realistic. It is packed with some power house performances by the lead characters. One of the strongest points of the film is the fact that music has been artistically entrenched in the story and last but not the least, humor is genuine and amusing.

But the question still remains; does it deliver as per the expectations? And the answer is no. Mainly, because it's a fiction and fiction demands more logic than reality. The treatment, despite being poetic and beautiful, keeps the focus on one person's personality, making it look like a true story of a real life character which its not. Its fiction and fiction demands more logic than real life biographies or documentaries. At several points Imtiaz Ali deviates from logic in favor of creative license granting which varies from genre to genre. Ra.One loving audience would give more margins than Love Aaj Kal loving audience. Imtiaz develops the character of JJ with utmost detail and sincerity but falters a couple of times in framing his career path and his rise. While 45 minutes of the film are fast and eventful, it starts becoming slower as it progresses and the second half hardly moves the story. Also, the pair's reunion scenes leave much to be desired.

Imtiaz Ali's experiment with Nargis Fakhri also falls flat. Nargis has serious dialogue delivery issues and goes over the top on quite a few occasions which are not Imtiaz Ali film traits. Her age, she is almost 33, also shows when she is playing a college student etc. Female lead of the film being bad can be perilous, however, the rise of the inexplicably charming Aditi Rao Hyadri in supporting cast saves the female side of the show. She is natural, beautiful and has excellent screen presence. All the more reason to look for her pairing with Ali Zafar in London, Paris, New York as her next. Piyush Mishra does a incredible job as you would expect from a man of his talent. Other supporting cast is also very good, especially Kumud Mishra as JJ's agent. Shammi Kapoor is in a brief role but is unforgettable. Graceful, respectable and heart warming. Very convincing indeed.

The film totally belongs to Ranbir. What an absolutely wonderful performance. Just a couple of years in the industry and he is already in a league of his own, much ahead of Imran or others. I hate to admit that he is even better than my personal favorite Shahid Kapoor and his results are also showing the same. It was a complex role but the ease with which Ranbir has carried it can give Aamir Khan run for his money. The image and persona of a rock star fit Ranbir perfectly and he pulled off the attitude and music in style. Champion, I'd say. Impressive.

One more impressive unit member is Anil Mehta behind the lens. Fantastic camera work from the veteran. He has bettered his previous best Lagaan and HDDS by a huge margin. Light treatments in on-stage performance scenes is remarkable. Close-ups are detail oriented.

Imtiaz Ali the writer has written beautiful character sketches but hasn't left much in the story. Several ends remain open when the movie finishes. It appears as if he had a much more vivid picture of the script in his mind than he was able to tell the audience. As a director, he has handled the film with sensitivity and understanding but leaves the screenplay loose. He does get out best performances from his team but probably deliberately, gives a bit of a documentary touch to the film in the middle hour. Duration could also be shortened by 15 minutes or so. Alternatively, that time could have been used to give a view of Nargis's background or history which was virtually absent in the first half. There are weaknesses in how he handles the medical issues lead characters face.

Despite the points mentioned above, it still is a beautiful film and worth a watch. In most likelihood, it's the kind of film that will grow on the audience in multiple watches and has in it to become a long run cult classic. On a stand alone basis, its much better than several films produced this year, however, if you ask the questions like is it as good as Love AajKal or Jab We Met, definitely not as those were very universal movies and this will suit select audience. From Imtiaz's perspective, its more like his directorial debut film Socha Na Tha which despite being a beautiful film, lacked the excitement. Imtiaz's next should be a step further not backward.

Quote

you2

@you2

Sparkler

+ 6

Posted: 13 years ago

#244

http://in.movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-reviews/rockstar-review-103756608.html

Rockstar review

By Kunal Guha

By Kunal Guha | Movie Reviews – 4 hours ago

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Nargis Fakhri, Shammi Kapoor, Aditi Rao Hydari, Kumud Mishra, Piyush Mishra, Shernaz Patel, Moufid Aziz

Directed by Imtiaz Ali

Rating: *

This film says that depression, apart from making one horny, ignites the artist in one. But our lead, Janardhan Jakhar/JJ (Ranbir Kapoor) was neither adopted, nor abused as a child to feel down enough to become like his idol, Jim Morrison. So, to pursue pain, JJ flirts with college hottie and serial heart-breaker, Heer Kaul (Nargis Fakhri). He hopes to be dumped, shattered and consequently become a musical genius. But following several awkward proposals, JJ and Heer actually bond over doing wild things, which they trigger off by saying, 'gandh machaate hain!'

While Heer is scheduled for a Kashmir marriage that would jet her off to Prague, JJ crashes her wedding but avoids clichd Bollywood tactics of charming her parents or making a swift getaway as they're not in love. The wedding leads to Heer's departure, closely followed by logic departing from this feeble rock-u-drama like a ball smashed from Sachin Tendulkar's bat.

JJ is clobbered and thrown out of his house for attending Heer's wedding (a crime because?) and a reason even sillier than that. Broken and hungry, JJ takes refuge at a 'darga' which also doubles as 'school of Sufi music for the lesser privileged'. After two months, he also spends some time, making a living babbling bhajans (to be fair that all religions offer a chance to hone one's musical bone?).

One montage leads to another and JJ becomes Jordan, a revolutionary solo artist, headed to Prague for a recording. Song and dance numbers to amuse the country's tourism board follow as Jordan and Heer finally get intimate (just when we thought they'd hook up in the sequel). If Heer's married state wasn't rarifying enough, she also suffers from psychiatric issues and is finally diagnosed with a form of terminal bone marrow. Oh, yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Finally, an orgasm of sadness results in compositions like 'Nadaan Parindey Ghar Aaja', possibly dedicated to the script writers of 'Rockstar' who never returned to the sets.

Ranbir is committed in his disturbed desi rocker avatar and his abstention from any intoxicants makes him an idol who wouldn't corrupt his worshipers. Nargis blends divine beauty with lips that jive like she's in the movie, 'Finding Nemo'.

Although the 'Rockstar' soundtrack is being crowned universally, Rahman's work has become formatted. It's like, be it a horror or an animated children's film, Rahman will insert a minimalistic yet soulful Sufi number (*Kun Faaya Kun), one Masakali equivalent- (*Sheher Mein), one high-pitched Dil Se-esque number (*Nadaan Parindey) and a soft soothing love song (Tum Ho). Shamelessly ignoring the rock theme, only 'Saadda Haq' comes close to the head banging genre. Also note that Mohit Chauhan is a trained professional and do not try singing 'Oh, yeah! Yeah! Yeah!' at home or outdoors, unless you want to risk being certified as an imbecile.

The film's crisp post-production and beautiful cinematography makes the screen light up to dreamy sights and the enumerable chopper shots allow a great vantage point to take in the stunning landscapes of this eastern European country.

Watching 'Rockstar' once is like watching it many times over, thanks to the repeated montages that sporadically recap the film. If you thought being stabbed once was bad, here's what a knife set can do.

The film drives home an unscientific hypothesis that people who've endured sufferings/ heart break/ loose motions etc will reach their creative best. By this logic, each person in the audience will be blessed with superhuman creativity as they step out after watching 'Rockstar'. Oh, yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

You can reach me at guha.kunal@rocketmail.com or connect with me on Facebook

Also check out:

Quote

Kruti

@NautankiSaali17

Rocker

+ 7

Posted: 13 years ago

#245

why is Kunal Guha such a pessimist ??🤔

Quote

31609

Suspended

Posted: 13 years ago

#246

*heart broken into a million pieces*

Oh well...this year officially sucks balls...

Quote

you2

@you2

Sparkler

+ 6

Posted: 13 years ago

#247

Rediff.com Movies Review: Rockstar is more Devdas than Jim Morrison

Review: Rockstar is more Devdas than Jim Morrison

November 11, 2011 08:56 IST

Share
this

Ask
Users

Write a
Comment

Print this
article

Ranbir Kapoor's [ Images ] 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 [ Images ] new film Rockstar has two heroes: Ranbir Kapoor, and A R Rahman [ Images ].

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 [ Images ] 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 [ Images ] 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 [ Images ], 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 [ Images ] in India [ Images ], 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, and the gags are funny as you follow the lovably foolish Delhi [ Images ] college kid Janardhan Jhakar's attempts at being the Robert Plant of Pitampura. And him and his sophisticated, rich college mate Heera going on secret excursions of all things taboo. 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 po*n 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 [ Images ] 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 [ Images ] plays a shehnai great who spots Janardhan's talent. Many will find sentimental value in the jam scene between him and his grandson.

Die-hard romantics will find a lot to mush over. A fellow reviewer spotted a couple of teenagers at the Mumbai [ Images ] 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.

Rediff Rating:2.5 stars

Quote

you2

@you2

Sparkler

+ 6

Posted: 13 years ago

#248

#Rockstar - Review

by Kshitij Mehta - as i see it on Friday, November 11, 2011 at 1:14am

Much awaited & with huge expectations, Imitiaz Ali's Rockstar hits the screens today. After a cult hit in the form of "Jab We Met" & a so-so "Love Aaj Kal", is Rockstar the blockbuster we all are hoping?

It's fantastic film that could have been even more but two words are enough: RANBIR & RAHMAN.

Set in old school Delhi, goofy college boy Janardan(Ranbir) dreams of being a musician to no avail. He gets advice that music comes from a broken heart and he sets out to achieve that by wooing college hottie Heer(Nargis). Though she is about to get married, they become good friends and she leaves the country soon after. What follows is the tribulations of Janardan that make him Jordan, his rise as a musician, his relationship with Heer & the unrequited love that he longs for.

The first half is a breeze that explores their friendship and shows us the quirky character of Janardan. There are some brilliant scenes, especially the ones involving canteen manager Khatana & the bonding between Ranbir & Nargis.

The second half is much darker and shows us the animal inside Jordan that strikes all around him and the eventual outcome of his lunacy.

Visually the film is a delight, right from earthy shots of Delhi, to the breathtaking shots of Prague and the epic beauty that is Kashmir, Anil Mehta covers it all with a believable lens.

The flaws in the film are in the slightly weak narrative and random plot changes that move the story abruptly.

As the title suggests, Rockstar demands some winners from the music department and maestro AR Rahman delivers a stupendous soundtrack which forms the backbone of the film. Right from Jo Bhi Main to Sadda Haq to Faaya Kun and Nadaan Parindey, each track is a journey in itself. Kudos to Imitiaz on doing justice to the audio with terrific picturisations especially Hawa Hawa. Also a definite mention for Mohit Chauhan, the voice of the film.

And coming to the Rockstar himself, Ranbir Kapoor, take a bow for what is by far your most powerful performance to date and your ticket into the big league. He takes us on a journey of emotions from naive to happy to tortured to angry to sad, all with a dash of eccentricity. He is a complete natural and delivers a knockout blow, cementing his place as the next Superstar and leading the pack of present actors.

Nargis Fakhri looks stunning but is the weak link as her acting leaves a lot to be desired. Another Katrina in the making? Only time will tell.

Imtiaz Ali delivers yet again, only missing out on some brownie points due to few plot issues & a slightly loose screenplay. Nevertheless the overall product works.

At the end of it, I cant get enough of repeating the fact that you have to watch this film for 2 stars:

RANBIR AND RAHMAN, who are the heart and soul of the film and make every minute of this journey watchable. Together, they make you forget whatever downfalls come with the film and one should understand very clearly, if the music doesn't work for you, the film wont.

While it wasn't the "film of the year" I was expecting of it, it still works for me with all its flaws.

Rating: 3.75/5

Edited by you2 - 13 years ago

Quote

668201

Suspended

Posted: 13 years ago

#249

Rockstar Has Good Advance At Multiplexes

Thursday 10th November 2011 11.00 IST

Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network

Rockstar had a good advance yesterday as advance counters opened yesterday at multiplexes. The single screens are not as strong going by good single screens like Delite and Liberty in Delhi which are good barometers as they are advance theatres.

The youth in major centres is likely to be out in full force on Friday as the advance is much stronger at multiplexes which are close to colleges and universities or other big educational institutes.

It will be interesting to see how well Rockstar can open in mass circuits like CPCI as films like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and even a more massy Mere Brother Ki Dulhan put up numbers which were on the lower side on their respective first days.