Rockstar is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language epic musical drama film written and directed by Imtiaz Ali. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri in lead roles, with Shammi Kapoor, Kumud Mishra, Piyush Mishra, Shernaz Patel, Aditi Rao Hydari and Sanjana Sanghi in pivotal supporting roles. The soundtrack was composed by A. R. Rahman. The film marks the posthumous screen appearance of Shammi Kapoor, following his death on 14 August 2011.
Rockstar was released worldwide in theatres on 11 November 2011. On the day of release, Tibetans in Chennai and Kangra protested against the Central Board of Film Certification, which asked the film-makers to censor scenes featuring the Tibetan flag. Made on a budget of , the film grossed worldwide, emerging as one of the highest-grossing films of the year, majorly appealing to the young urban crowd. It received generally positive reviews, with high praise directed towards its novel concept, story, screenplay, dialogue, soundtrack and performances of the cast, with major praise for Kapoor's central performance.
A recipient of numerous accolades, Rockstar received 10 nominations at the 57th Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, Best Director (Ali) and Best Female Debut (Fakhri), and won 5 awards, including Best Actor (Kapoor) and Best Music Director (A. R. Rahman).
Over the years, the film has gone to achieve a cult following, and its soundtrack album has often been termed as the best music album of the decade. Due to popular demand, the film was re-released on 17 May 2024 in theatres and grossed over – Following the re-release of the film in 2024, it is currently the eleventh highest-grossing re-released Indian film.
Plot A large crowd gathers outside the Verona Arena in Italy to watch the performance of rockstar Jordan. Despite being mobbed, he storms onto the stage in a fit of rage and starts strumming his guitar.
A flashback reveals the story of Jordan, whose real name is Janardan Jakhar ("JJ"), a Jat boy from Delhi. He is studying at Hindu College and dreams of being a rockstar, for which he is often laughed at by his friends. Khatana, the canteen owner, tells JJ that one thing common among all artists is a life-altering heartbreak. JJ jokingly tells himself that since that hasn't happened yet, he won't be able to reach his idol Jim Morrison's status. He watches the dance performance of Heer Kaul, a beautiful girl from St. Stephen's College, during a contest, and overhears that she is the "perfect heartbreaking machine." Remembering Khatana's words, he decides to propose to her but suffers humiliation, which he sees as the perfect method for enduring the heartbreak needed for stardom. Over time, he and Heer become good friends, often going on adventures and engaging in risky behaviour.
Heer marries a man named Jai in Kashmir, after which the couple moves to Prague. During this time, she develops feelings for JJ and coins the nickname "Jordan" for him. JJ finds himself thrown out by his brothers for allegedly stealing family money. He takes refuge for two months in the nearby Nizamuddin Dargah, singing qawwalis, and then moves into Khatana's home. Ustaad Jameel Khan, a renowned classical musician, hears JJ's singing at the Dargah and prompts Dhingra, the owner of "Platinum Records," to sign him. Sheena, a journalist, interviews JJ and hints to him that Dhingra is sending artists to Prague for a Europe tour. JJ volunteers to work there in the hopes of reuniting with Heer.
Heer, meanwhile, suffers from continuous health problems. She meets JJ in Prague, and they reconnect, but when he tries to profess his love for her, Heer, being married, spurns him. Despite this, their relationship gets intimate, and Heer feels guilty. As soon as JJ's Prague tours are over, she leaves him. JJ tries to visit her one last time before departing for India but is arrested on trespassing charges filed by Heer's husband. While JJ is being taken away, he sees Heer collapse. Upon being deported back to India, he is overwhelmed by the attention he receives, and clashes with the media and the Indian police, resulting in a jail term. The event garners enough publicity to make Dhingra decide to release JJ's recordings; the album does well, throwing JJ into the limelight.
After being released, JJ terminates his contract with Dhingra, embarks on a countrywide tour, and finally morphs fully into "Jordan," the rockstar he had aspired to be. He turns bitter, arrogant, and lonely as time goes on, but remains a popular artist.
Jordan meets Heer's younger sister, Mandy, during one of his concerts, and she asks him to help Heer, who has been diagnosed with bone marrow aplasia. Jordan's presence causes Heer to somewhat recover and her blood level to rise. He starts disregarding his musical obligations to spend more time with her, and Khatana, his manager now, asks Heer to persuade Jordan to attend his concerts. Heer does so, and Jordan resumes his tour with his first concert at Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. Upon returning, Heer's health deteriorates again. She slips into a coma and is discovered to be pregnant with Jordan's child. When Mandy informs Jordan of Heer's condition, he leaves one of his shows midway and goes to her hospital bed. He tries to wake her up, but she remains non-responsive. Jordan realises that she will not survive and goes numb. Heer dies offscreen, leaving Jordan in a permanent state of grief, who finally achieves international stardom like his idol.
The film cuts back to the concert in Verona, and while performing, Jordan sees a vision of a smiling Heer walking towards him. The film ends with a line from the poet Rumi's poem that the film began with; translated, it means: "Away, beyond all concepts of wrong-doing and right-doing, there is a field. I will meet you there."
Cast Ranbir Kapoor as Janardhan Jhakar ("JJ")/Jordan Mohit Chauhan as Jordan (singing voice) Nargis Fakhri as Heer Kaul Shammi Kapoor as Ustad Jameel Khan Kumud Mishra as Khatana Piyush Mishra as Satish Dhingra Shernaz Patel as Neena Kaul Aditi Rao Hydari as Sheena Sanjana Sanghi as Mandy Kaul, Heer's younger sister Moufid Aziz as Jai Aakash Dahiya as Jordan's friend Jaideep Ahlawat as Jordan's brother Shreya Narayan as Jordan's sister-in-law Nizami Bandhu as Qawwal from Nizamuddin Auliya Dargah
Production
Casting Ranbir Kapoor plays the male lead of Rockstar, with whom Eros International worked previously on Anjaana Anjaani (2010). His role of Jordan is loosely based on Imtiaz Ali's Jat friend, who lived in a small settlement in Pitam Pura. He had seen Kareena Kapoor's performance in his previous directorial Jab We Met (2007) and wanted to cast her in the film. However, the script required some romantic scenes between the leads. As Ranbir and Kareena happened to be cousins, this was touted as a problem. Moreover, the filmmakers did not want to replace Ranbir with any other actor as the character he portrayed was reportedly suitable only for him. They then made a joint decision to replace Kapoor with Nargis Fakhri, after initially approaching Sonam Kapoor and Diana Penty for the replacement.Rockstar was offered to me first: Diana Penty . Hindustan Times (21 July 2012). Retrieved on 6 December 2013. The film marked Shammi Kapoor's last appearance in a feature film; he died on 14 August 2011.
Filming
The shooting for Rockstar began in May 2010. A major part of the shooting took place in Kashmir at Kulgam, Kupwara, Pahalgam and Srinagar, while the last phase was shot in Delhi at places like the Kotla Mubarakpur, Nizamuddin Dargah, Greater Kailash, Munirka, Indira Gandhi International Airport, Amity School (deleted scenes), Connaught Place, Shri Ram College of Commerce, BL Kapoor Hospital, Rajendra Nagar, St. Stephen's College and Hindu College, which was Ali's alma mater.
Foreign sequences were shot at Wenceslas Square, Charles Bridge and the Old Town in parts of Prague and in Liberec (at Dr. Beneš Square, in front of the Liebieg Villa). The film was shot in reverse as the crew didn't want to break the continuity of Ranbir's hairstyle. The climax with long hair was shot first. Ranbir had to transform himself into a rockstar: he practised guitar at A. R. Rahman's studio in Chennai for many days, read Kurt Cobain's biography and familiarised himself with Jats.
Rockstars costumes were designed by Aki Narula and Manish Malhotra, who dressed Ranbir in "small-town denim-and-sweater combination and later, Pathani-style kurtas with arm bands", thus completing the rockstar look. Nargis Fakhri, who plays the role of a Kashmiri Pandit girl, wore a traditional Kashmiri Pandit wedding outfit in the wedding scene, which included pheran, dejhoor (ear ornament) and taranga (head cap worn underneath the veil). This also marked the first time in Bollywood that a Kashmiri Pandit wedding was shown.
Soundtrack
The music for the film is composed and scored by A. R. Rahman. This also marks the first Imtiaz Ali film since his debut Socha Na Tha (2005), to have the same composer for both film score and songs.
The soundtrack features 14 tracks, with all the songs' lyrics penned by Irshad Kamil. The recording of the album took place in Chennai, London and Mumbai. Mohit Chauhan had lent his voice for nine songs. The audio rights were bought by T-Series. Upon release on 30 September 2011, it received widespread critical acclaim. "Sadda Haq" became the most popular song of the album and was regarded as a "youth anthem".
Release Rockstar released on 11 November 2011 and saw a high advance opening at multiplexes closer to educational institutions. The film released in 2,500 screens, and saw cinema halls running 14 to 15 shows in a day. The DVD of the film was released by Eros Home Video. The television premiere of the film took place on Star Gold on 25 February 2012. The film has been streaming available on Eros Now and JioCinema.
The film was re-released on 17 May 2024 in theatres in India.
Reception Critical response Rockstar received generally positive reviews, with high praise directed towards its novel concept, story, screenplay, dialogue, soundtrack and performances of the cast, with major praise for Kapoor's central performance.