Mumbai: Bollywood actor, Ranbir Kapoor along with film director, Imtiaz Ali and music director A R Rahman on Saturday promoted his upcoming film ‘Rockstar’ through at a music concert here.
The entire music crew of ‘Rockstar’ including lead singers of the film performed at the concert by singing songs of the film that are already popular in among the public.
During the promotion, Ali said the concert was a unique way to promote the film, as it will reach out to more and more people.
“Songs of the film will be performed in the concert but it will be in live form. They will not exactly replicate the songs as they are in the film,” he said.
Kapoor said he is enjoying promoting his film since he has put in a lot of hard work.
“Since we have made a film, so we have to sell it and I am very proud of this film. I have this film with lots of love and heart, so I enjoy and do not feel that I am promoting film,” he said.
‘Rockstar’ stars Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor and American model/actress Nargis Fakhri in lead roles.
The film also stars late veteran actor Shammi Kapoor, making it the Bollywood legend’s last appearance.
Made with a budget of $ 13.38 million, the film is expected to hit the theatres on November 11.
ANI
____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
These days Ranbir Kapoor is screaming from the rooftop "I am not a Rockstar!"
Why? Perhaps because the tall, good looking, lanky star is getting highly embarrassed at all the attention he is getting while he is promoting his upcoming film Rockstar. As a matter of fact, Ranbir states, " Film banaya hai, bechna toh padega"(Now that we have made the film, we will have to sell it to the audience).
Interestingly, to get into the character - Janardhan Jordan, Ranbir also learnt to play guitar on one song from the film which took him about a year, but the actor who has his feet firmly planted on the ground, repeatedly says, "I am not a rockstar, I am an actor and just expressing myself. My voice in the film, Mohit Chauhan and other acclaimed musicians associated with the film are the real rockstars."
Ranbir, who is undoubtedly getting ready to claim his legacy, is leaving no stone unturned in taking the film to the audience as it is surely going to make a huge difference to his career. Rockstaris a solo hero film besides being a prestigious banner and talented director Imtiaz Ali (with two big hits) wielding the baton. And as the actor recently said in an interview that he wants to be the India's biggest star.
And one of the significant moves is that the actor will be giving his first live performance for the Rockstarconcert where the Bollywood heart-throb will perform live in front of thousands of people in Mumbai on November 1. This is perhaps the most awaited moment for Ranbir's fans. This will end all the speculations about his stage performances. And obviously, the aim of having this concert is to take the film's music to the audience in a big way.
What is more, in another rare move, music maestro and genius A R Rahman will be performing live in concert. Rahman has specially flown down his talented band to be a part of this concert and is rehearsing with the team currently. Joining Rahman and Ranbir in this concert will be Rahman's long term associate music arranger Ranjit Barot and percussion guru Sivamani. S adda Haq , the song that has become a rage with the youth will be the highlight of the concert. Jo Bhi Main, Kun Faaya Kun (with the original qawwali singers), Katiyan Karun, Nadaan Parinde and Tum Ho will also be performed at the concert.
____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
I want to be the biggest star: Ranbir Kapoor (Interview)
Saturday, October 29, 2011
New Delhi, Oct 29 (IANS) Comedy, political thriller and drama — Ranbir Kapoor’s body of work boasts of variety and that too in just four years of filmdom. The grandson of the legendary Raj Kapoor says he wants to grow with every character and be “the biggest star”.
In the last four years, the chocolate boy has grown up as an actor. He entered the industry with “Saawariya” and did light-hearted dramas like “Bachna Ae Haseeno” and “Wake Up Sid” and it was his mature performance in “Rajneeti” that changed everyone’s perception of him.
Now with “Rockstar” and “Barfee”, he feels he is on the right path.
“I hope I can grow with every character I do. I want to be the biggest star. I want to be the best actor and I feel I am on the right path. I have been fortunate that I have worked with such talented directors,” Ranbir, 29, told IANS in an interview.
Undeterred by negative talk, he says, “I am happy with my growth and the way my career is shaping up. People have tried to pull me down with negative reviews and never-ending rumours. But that doesn’t affect me at all now.
“I have become numb to such stories. I have learnt how to detach myself. It doesn’t bother me or my peace of mind.”
The great grandson of the legendary Prithviraj Kapoor, grandson of Bollywood’s one and only showman Raj Kapoor and son of yesteryear stars Neetu and Rishi Kapoor, Ranbir is finally finding a firm foothold as an actor.
His debut vehicle “Saawariya” (2007) was a damp squib at the box office, but Ranbir rose above the film’s fate and won the Filmfare award for the best male debut.
In his short career he has pushed the envelope by doing different roles like a lover boy in “Ajab Prem Ki Gajab Kahani”, a casanova in “Bachna Ae Haseeno” and a calculative scion of a political family in “Raajneeti”.
When asked about his role in “Rockstar”, he said: “I play a Jat boy from Delhi, who lives in Pitampura. He studies in the Hindu college and plays the guitar. It is not about music, it is a love story where music is incidental…people tell him that to get the best out of you, you should go through a heartbreak. So, deliberately he falls in love…”
Essaying a jat boy was not a cakewalk for Ranbir as he couldn’t find a common connect with his character.
“My character comes from a different stratum of society. He is somebody whom I haven’t met in my life. So it was very hard for me to get into his skin. So I went and spent a lot of time with a jat family in Delhi. It was very important for me to observe them, to pick up certain nuances,” he said.
Though he plays an aspiring musician in the film, Ranbir lacks the art in real life and would like to exercise his vocal chords some day.
“Music is the purest form to reach millions of hearts and it has always been on my side. It is a disadvantage that I can’t sing. My mother tried that I get hold of it, but my teachers also confessed that I can’t. It’s one of my aspirations that I would want to fulfil. I would want to lend my voice some day,” he said.
His grandfather was the youngest director at his time, and Ranbir too harbours the dream of wielding the megaphone. “I want to direct but the problem is I don’t think I can pen my thoughts and vision on paper beautifully. I want to make something like ‘Shree 420′ or ‘Jagte Raho’. I want to make films that would be relatable, that would spread joy and love. Yes, I would also want to star in my own films without a doubt.”
So what next?
“I would want to do an out-and-out negative film. I want to play with characters, I want to explore myself. People ask me if I want to do an action film because action films are in vogue. I would definitely do one in some time, but not when it is being followed as a trend. I will do it when I feel it is the best time for me to get into such a role.”
____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
Ranbir Kapoor is clearly walking on Salman Khan’s footsteps. First it was his love interest now the youth charmer is taking a cue from the stud man Khan professionally.
There is a rumour circulating that Ranbir is taking a leaf from the book of his senior artists and is actively involved in the post- production of his films.
Reportedly, the actor is taking deep interest in the after work of his forthcoming film ‘Rockstar’ and is putting forward some creative inputs too.
Not just this, Ranbir is taking part in the editing of the film along with director of ‘Rockstar’ Imtiaz Ali. A source informed, “The editing of Rockstar is happening at the producers Astavinayak’s office and Ranbir is regularly seen at the office where he is taking part in the editing of the film.”
____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
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!
____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
The purpose of Jihad is martyrdom (Shahada), the individual as well as the society’s Shahada. The society’s Shahada lies in its becoming evidence to other societies of the values and significations it includes, at which Allah the Glorious and Exalted argues other societies with on Judgment Day. As for the individual’s Shahada, it has a more superior significance, as it is mostly accompanied with willful death, and it indicates witnessing the Face of Allah the Glorious and Exalted.
This term Shahada has no synonym in other languages, as the Shaheed (the one who witnesses or observes), Shuhada’a, (the witnesses) and Shahada (the act of witnessing or observing) are purely Islamic concepts that did not exist before Islam, just like the term Wilaya (Guardianship). One of the sayings of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) states that the martyr has seven characteristics, he lists them then says: … he observes the Face of Allah the Glorious.
Observing the Face of Allah refers to observing the revelations of His names and the divine qualities, because the face of something is what he appears by. Therefore the Shaheed is he who observes the reflection of righteousness on the creatures and the existence at all levels. This is the face of the Ever-living and Eternal, in other words, the glorious and honorable, and this is what includes His names of glory and names of beauty. The Shaheed reaches a rank known as the rank of revelations of the Names and Qualities, or the rank of monotheism, that is the unification of Allah’s Names and Qualities; and that is the true purpose behind man’s existence.
Man was created to reach the level at which he observes the face of Allah, and reach the rank of unification of Allah’s Names and Qualities, or what is referred to as recognizing Allah the Glorious and Exalted. This certain recognition is the destined knowledge for Man, that ultimately leads him to deny his own ego and dissolve in Allah’s will.
The Face of Allah the Glorious and Exalted is an indication to eternity {All that is on earth will perish; but will abide (forever) the Face of thy lord, the Glorious and honorable} -Ar-Rahman (the Beneficient): 26-27- and everything else is an indication to limited existence. Therefore, when it is said that the Shaheed observes the Face of Allah, this means that he witnesses eternity and becomes immortal, and Allah indicates this in the verse: {Think not of those who are slain in Allah’s way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord} - Aal-Imran: 169 -.
When the Shaheed reaches this rank, he is destined with eternal existence, in which he never dies, and that is because he chose death with his own free will and desire. He excels by that over other creatures and humans, as he does not witness the after-death stages, neither does he transfer from his natural being. This is another reference to observing the Face of Allah the Glorious and Exalted, as the Shaheed exists with the existence of Allah without being exposed to any kind of extinction, absence, shock, or obliteration, or all those figures that oppose existence.
The secret of that is clear for those who cogitate about the facts related to this rank. It is known that the only barrier that prevents witnessing the Glorious, Exalted Right is the barrier of selfishness and self-centeredness, and all the other barriers fall under this major one.
The Shaheed is that who willingly seeks to remove this barrier when he goes into that field that requires him to sacrifice and get rid of this existence with his own free will, based on Allah’s desire and his obedience to Him; and this is a basic condition, for without it, that would be similar to suicide, which is a great sin.
There are people who reach the rank of Shahada without being killed, by performing the work of Shuhada’a, as their movement from the beginning till the end is the movement of a Shaheed who was killed for the sake of Allah, but with one difference is that he was not disconnected from nature. It is similar to that person who crosses all the phases of Jihad and all the attachments with selfish desires, and reaches the rank of Shahada, thus becoming a Shaheed. However, because the possibility of retracting from this path always exists, it is required that one gets killed for the sake of Allah, because he would consider it a relief and a victory and it would be appeasing to know that his life was concluded with Shahada.
The Prince of Believers Ali bin Abi Taleb, who was one of the victorious and Shuhada’a throughout his life, yet, he did not say: “By the Lord of the Kaaba, I have succeeded” except after he was killed with a sword for the sake of Allah, and that is after he was confident that his life was concluded with it.
Translated by: Sara Taha
____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
R. M. Vijayakar, Special to India-West Nov 10, 2011
Ranbir Kapoor strums his maroon guitar.
MUMBAI
You’ve got to hand it to Ranbir Kapoor for having high rankings, charming his fans, and thriving in the Bollywood industry. After all, he’s the fourth generation of the Kapoors, the first family of Indian cinema, and also the third generation of two prime musical stars, grandfather Raj Kapoor, and father Rishi Kapoor. Ranbir Kapoor is the grandnephew of the late Shammi Kapoor, the third prime musical star who redefined music and romance in Hindi cinema.
During an interview with India-West, the soft-spoken pedigreed performer talks about his new discoveries and aspirations
Excerpts from an interview:
Q: You suggested Shammi Kapoor’s name to Imtiaz and also persuaded your granduncle to do the film, right?
A: Yes, Shammi Kapoor saab plays my guru, who is a shehnai ustad in the film. He has only a few sequences but the highlight is a jugalbandi between him and his sitar and me on my guitar. I confess that I conned him for three hours, almost blackmailing him emotionally to accept the role as he was unsure of doing the film because of his health. He was having to undergo dialysis thrice a week and was restricted to his wheelchair. But he did it for me and in the Delhi schedule, he would get his dialysis done there. I am very emotional about this gesture.
Q: As of now, he is the only Kapoor you have co-starred with in a film.
A: Oh, he is the original rockstar of Hindi cinema! All my preconceived notions about him as a megastar were dispelled in a moment when he came on the sets—he was like a little boy, nervous and anxious, and always insisting on rehearsals. But he shared such fantastic experiences of his times with us. He would also interact with Composer A.R. Rahman and get into discussions about Apple, Mac and music.
Q: Ironically, he had made some satirical comments about Rahman and his music in an interview just before signing the film.
A: That’s strange. He did get to hear the music CD and had liked it.
Q: What does “Rockstar” mean to you?
A: I want the film to do well. Less for myself, but more for the team and above all, for the immense sacrifice and hard work of one man called Imtiaz Ali, who has made the film with so much love.
Q: On the inlay of the album, Imtiaz has stated that the film and its music “made itself.” What is your take on that?
A: Well, it was a special film from the beginning with all the right energies happening, but I think Imtiaz was the sole reason why all that happened. He is a genuine person, does not take work for granted and understands key aspects like Indian people and culture and the complexities of relationships. He could have made yet another “Jab We Met” or “Love Aaj Kal” to ensure a safe run, but he chose to go a different way.
Q: Arising from that, a rock-centric musical as a genre has not worked here.
A: I don’t think you can call “Rockstar” a rock music-based film. It is a love story that is rooted in India with the role of a lifetime for me. The music is in that sense incidental as the hero wants to become a rockstar.
Q: For the first time, however, you participated in a major way, with the music. Would you call it self-discovery, given the rich musical heritage of Raj Kapoor and your father?
A: I would. It was such a great experience sitting on all eight tracks as well as the music pieces. For the first time, I really got involved in the songs, and observed how Mohit Chauhan sang and why. This helped me perform on screen during the song sequences.
Q: Purely a personal opinion, but when I hear Mohit sing, his vocal tenor does not make me visualize you on screen.
A: I hope that the audiences here do not find any disconnect between the voice and me. The choice of Mohit was unanimous so far as Imtiaz, composer Rahman sir and I were concerned.
Q: How was the Rahman experience, with you being parked in his studio several nights for the making of the soundtrack?
A: Rahman sir is so humble. You have to see his passion for hard work. He works in isolation, when he has a relationship only with music, which is why it was so wonderful to get into his studio so many times and watch him make music.
Q: The buzz is that you were highly involved with this music because you had initially given short shrift to lip sync numbers as per global sensibilities and now found yourself short of songs to perform on concert tours and shows.
A: (Seriously) Yes, that’s true. I do need a bank of music for my stage shows, which so far has been restricted largely to the songs of “Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani,” but that was not a musical. “Rockstar” is the first film in which I learned to participate in and contribute to a song at all stages. I even learned to play the guitar.
Q: What is special about your character, Janardhan/Jordan?
A: I would say that it is Imtiaz’s contribution. I am in no way an actor with a huge reservoir of experiences, but Imtiaz shared so much of his life experiences, his angst, and his intensity with me that performing the role became very easy. There are not many filmmakers who do that for their actors. His friendship is something that I have definitely taken away with me from the film. Even Nargis Fakhri surrendered completely as an actor to him and bravely treaded terrain that would have been otherwise difficult for any new actor.
Q: Arising from that, how would you react to a celebrity stating on Twitter, “I wish Ranbir stops trying hard to be just an actor and concentrates on becoming a star?”
A: I want to be not just the best actor but the biggest star! I also want to produce and direct films like Raj Kapoor and my father did. I know it will need a lot of sacrifices, but I will reach there one day. I am grateful for everything that I have got, but there is a long way to go. I am all for balancing the “masala movies” that I get, which are important to bring in the revenue, with a “Wake Up Sid!” and “Rocket Singh – Salesman Of The Year.” I have no false illusions about myself - I know that I cannot do yet what the Khans do or have a “Singham” to my name. But I am comfortable with every kind of film and good actors will always last, like dad has done for four decades.
Q: But in the star-versus-actor tussle, what do you feel about star images in the matter of career longevity? Do they help or hinder?
A: Hats off to the seniors for lasting as long as they did though, and maybe partly because they were categorized largely in a single genre, like my father Rishi Kapoor, who I think is the greatest actor of his generation. He never had a style, was so spontaneous, and was a successful lover boy for over two decades! Today cinema has progressed and actors have become fearless.
Q: What next?
A: I have a great role in Anurag Basu’s “Barfee” and I am looking forward to Ayan Mukerji’s “Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.” But I want to take up direction really soon. I am working on a couple of ideas.
Q: That’s great news! As of now, your personal relationships and issues grab far more print-space than your work. According to a recent article in a Mumbai tabloid, it says you’ve had seven relationships with actresses.
A: (In a shocked tone): Seven???? Wow! That’s six more than I know! Well, I guess we are easy targets for the media. I had just one relationship with an actress that I was always open about. But I really hope to make people forget about anything other than my work in the films and years to come.
FILMOGRAPHY
(Hits/Successes in Capitals)
2007 – Saawariya
2008 – BACHNA AE HASEENO
2009 – WAKE UP SID! (in Mumbai), AJAB PREM KI GHAZAB KAHANI, Rocket Singh – Salesman of the Year
2010 – RAAJNEETI, Anjaana Anjaani
2011 – ROCKSTAR (Released 11.11.11)
____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
Rockstar, directed by Imtiaz Ali stars Nargis Fakhri and Ranbir Kapoor in the lead. The film begins well with very interesting fun filled moments. Rockstar is able to immediately connect with the audience as the scene shifts between the past and the present.
Life in a typical Delhi college and the scenic beauty of Kashmir has been beautifully captured on screen. Youngsters and even the older, lot will be able to relate to many sequences in Rockstar, when the protagonist played by Ranbir Kapoor goes out on secret excursions with his college mate Heer played by Nargis Fakhri. Heer is getting married and wants to do a lot of crazy stuffs before that. That includes drinking desi alcohol, watching B-grade porn in a small theatre and so on. The spark and innocence of the youth is extremely well depicted and executed perfectly well.
However, the second half gets a little monotonous and the narration becomes a little weak. Another drawback in Rockstar is the 'realism' part. Many sequences in the film are hard to believe and one cannot help but opine that Imtiaz could have dealt with it more realistically. The scene between Ranbir and Shammi Kapoor is very nice to watch, apart from many other light moments.
The background score by AR Rahman is extremely good and uplifts your mood. The music and songs are capable of drifting you to another world.
Some of the dialogues in Rockstar is truly funny, though the editing could have been more crispier. Rockstar bears similarity with Imtiaz Ali's previous ventures - Jab We Met and Love Aaj kal. If you have enjoyed watching any of those films, you sure will love Rockstar as well.
Story
Janardhan Jakhar (Ranbir Kapoor), is a cheerful, immature young boy studying and whiling away time in The Hindu College canteen.
Janardan has a bigger dream – a dream of being a rockstar like Jim Morrison! Janardan realises later that all musical stars and artists have one thing in common – tragedy. They all have suffered painful heartbreaks to become what they are. Janardan forces himself to fall in love with Nargis (Heer), who happens to be his college mate.
Heer is rich, sophisticated, talented, arrogant and the diva of the college campus. She has broken many hearts and so Janardan hopes she will break his heart too. He sets out to woo Heer with the intention of getting his heart broken.
Rockstar is the journey of an immature boy, who will eventually become the Rockstar that he always wanted to be.
Performances
Imtiaz Ali has been able to extract mind blowing performance from all actors, especially Ranbir Kapoor. Ranbir has proved once again that he is an awesome actor. Ranbir has been able to pull off the role with aplomb. He will be remembered always for his extraordinary performance in Rockstar. Nargis Fakhri looks mind blowing. She acts well too. However, Nargis is unable to pull off a few very emotional scenes. The on screen chemistry between Nargis Fakhri and Ranbir Kapoor is electrifying. Rockstar is Shammi Kapoor's last film and the actor is simply outstanding in his small, yet important role. The other actors have given an average performance.
On the whole, Rockstar could have been better. 3 stars for Rockstar.
Producer: Shree Ashtavinayak & Eros International Media Ltd
Writer/Director: Imtiaz Ali
Lyricist: Irshad Kamil
Music: AR Rehman
____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
His stories happen in a world where there is no evil but in his latest film Rockstar, director Imtiaz Ali has taken a detour to explore the "vulnerability and anger" that come with love.
The director, who has given lovable, relatable characters like Viren-Aditi (Socha Na Tha), Geet-Aditya (Jab We Met) and Jai-Meera (Love Aaj Kal), is himself surprised by the anger in Rockstar, which stars Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakri.
"I have also asked this question to myself. It is an angry film but the anger does not come from me. It is not autobiographical in that sense, it must have come from my environment. It was an emotional and cathartic experience," Imtiaz told PTI in an interview
"I have also asked this question to myself. It is an angry film but the anger does not come from me. It is not autobiographical in that sense, it must have come from my environment. It was an emotional and cathartic experience," Imtiaz told PTI in an interview.
Another thing that is very unique to Imtiaz's direction is that his characters are mostly in transit and the director, who has a fascination for travelling to remote corners, says the physical journey in his films are indicative of the journey within.
"The physical journey in my films is indicative of the internal journey that my characters take. Rockstar is again about Jordan's journey from being a gawky Hindu College student to becoming the rockstar. Coming from a small town, he later goes from place to place. From the mundane, the regular, he discovers what is spiritual and uplifting."
Imtiaz, 40, first tried to make the film in 2005 with John Abraham but when he picked up the story again, everything had changed and he wanted a younger lead. The director says he found his perfect rockstar in Ranbir.
"He (Ranbir) is very receptive. I was thrilled to notice the emotional depth that he brought to this character. Ranbir was always the first choice because, he has this emotional vulnerability. He brought new nuances to the role. Praising him feels like I am praising myself," said Imtiaz.
The film's music, especially songs like Sadda Haq, Kun Faya Kun and Tum Ho, are being hailed as A R Rahman's finest compositions since Delhi 6 but Imtiaz feels that the Oscar-winning musician's full potential is yet to be realised.
"He was the most approachable and easy to work with colleagues. Rahman has amazing range and I feel that his true potential is only half exposed."
Relationships and marriages are quite pivotal in Imtiaz's plots and the director says the confusion of his characters stems from his own experience.
"There is lot of emphasis on marriage in our culture. I myself got married at a very young age. It has always intrigued me because marriage is very synthetic in an otherwise natural world," said the director.
Another thing that he is not ready to part with in his cinema is the middle class world that he comes from, which often forms the backdrop of his movies.
"I come from a middle class background. I have travelled a lot by trains and have lived in the world. It is a world I cannot get away from, I would not even want to."
____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
Ranbir Kapoor's 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 new film Rockstar has two heroes: Ranbir Kapoor, and A R Rahman.
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 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 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, 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 in India, 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; the gags are funny as you follow the lovably foolish Delhi college kid Janardhan Jhakar as he attempts to be the Robert Plant of Pitampura and goes out on secret excursions of all things taboo with his sophisticated, rich college mate Heera. 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 porn 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 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 plays a shehnai great who spots Janardhan's talent. Many will find sentimental value in the jam scene between him and his great nephew.
Die-hard romantics will find a lot to mush over. A fellow reviewer spotted a couple of teenagers at the Mumbai press show weeping buckets.
Many will swoon over Nargis, and the fairer S** 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
____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
For a man whose body of work is as incredible as A R Rahman's, one has to be that much more careful when it comes to rounding up his best movie soundtracks. The question is often not what to include, but what to leave out.
Ever since he first exploded on the scene with Mani Ratnam's Roja, the Oscar-winning musician has single-handedly raised the bar for Hindi film music. After some mediocre work in recent films like Ada, Jhootha Hi Sahi and Robot, Rahman regains his lost touch with Rockstar, a slow-burner of an album that exemplifies his sheer versatility. Do you think Rockstar is among Rahman's career-best so far?
Take this poll to vote for your favourite A R Rahman soundtrack.
Rockstar, 2011
Joined by singer Mohit Chauhan who is all over this soundtrack, Rahman fuses it with a strong undercurrent of Sufi music. Sadda Haq is any rockstar's dream and its picturisation on Ranbir Kapoor enhances its appeal.
That said, the real gem is Kun Fayakun, with words taken from Quranic verses and rendered with divine abandon by Rahman, Javed Ali and Mohit Chauhan.
____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
The time now is Tue 22 May, 2012 17:02 | All times are UTC - 5 Hours
Users browsing this topic: 0 Registered, 0 Hidden and 1 Guest Registered Users: None
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You cannot attach files in this forum You cannot download files in this forum
Radio
heed (the one who witnesses or observes), Shuhada’a, (the witnesses) and Shahada (the act of witnessing or observing) are purely Islamic concepts that did not exist before Islam, just like the term Wilaya (Guardianship). One of the sayings of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) states that the martyr has seven characteristics, he lists them then says: … he observes the Face of Allah the Glorious.
The secret of that is clear for those who cogitate about the facts related to this rank. It is known that the only barrier that prevents witnessing the Glorious, Exalted Right is the barrier of selfishness and self-centeredness, and all the other barriers fall under this major one.
Q: You suggested Shammi Kapoor’s name to Imtiaz and also persuaded your granduncle to do the film, right?
Ranbir Kapoor's new film is a love story that tries to pose as an insight into an artiste's anguish, feels Sumit Bhattacharya.
