Playing With Pain | Part – 1 | The I In Cinema | Under Lens

The only issue that I have with Rockstar is the title itself. Period.

Having said that, Rockstar is bound to induce something which is rarely associated with movies these days – debate. And since some time has passed after its release, seven days to be exact, it can be safely said that it has baffled some, infuriated some and pleased other cinegoers. Which means, of course, it has given rise to some serious debate. Words as diverse as pretentious and masterpiece have wriggled their way into the description and analysis of the film. Needless to say, that is a good thing. So, where do I stand? Right after seeing the trailer, I’d predicted that the heroine would kill this film. Not that I didn’t go too far when I said that. Because, obviously, she hasn’t killed the film. I believe, the Imtiaz Ali, whom we knew, has come of age. And this is a film which I am ready to embrace, with all its flaws intact. Rich with properly fleshed out characters and filled with enough subtext and subtlety, Rockstar is one of its kinds.

Janardhan is a simpleton residing in Delhi’s Pitampura trying to make a mark in the world of music. After repeated failed attempts, he is advised by one of his well-wishers, a canteen owner, who goes by the name of Khatana ji, that he should forget about making it big. ‘Kyun?’, he asks curiously. ‘Kyunki tujh mein who baat nahin hai na..’, replies Khatana. After prodding Khatana for a bit, Janardhan is told that he must feel the pain of heart-break so as to become a true artist. Janardhan sets his eyes on the ethereal Heer, who he would later describe as the ‘hottest’ and the ‘coolest’ girl in college. After his disastrous attempts to woo her, Janardhan and Heer strike up a strange friendship. They go about doing the weirdest of things in town. Sample these – watching a blue film in a packed theatre, visiting the red-light area and so on. She even rechristens him ‘Jordan’. Soon, Heer gets married and leaves for Prague. Janardhan, now Jordan, after a series of events makes it big in the field of music, becoming an overnight sensation. Destiny drives him to Prague, where he meets Heer again and together they are drawn into a world of lust and obsession. Jordan and Heer have no idea what Jordan’s obsession can drive them into.

I would like to use a quote which I use quite very frequently – love is something which you know intuitively but you don’t know why you know it. Imtiaz not only toys around with this particular idea but also goes a few notches ahead and does something which tosses the formula of love in the bin and makes us look at a ‘love story’ in a completely different light. Here’s a film which bravely blurs the line between love and lust and in doing so it establishes that Ali has an idea of love and it is anything but the cutesy ‘love’ which we have come to see in his previous films. Ah, am blabbering endlessly about love, aren’t I? For this is the movie of a rockstar. See, this was the complaint in general by lots of people who I went to see the movie with. Rockstar is no more a movie about rock than Lakshya is a movie about war. Yes, I think that might be a valid statement. Might. And I’ll also agree that the only problem that lies with Rockstar is in its horrendous title. Of course, you won’t find any subtexts and metaphors there in the title, will you? So, why make a love story and name it Rockstar? Does Jordan turn out to be a ‘rockstar lover’? Pardon my rather weak sense of humor. And also because, I digress.

Something happened to me while watching the film. The only reviews that I’d listened to (hesitatingly) before entering the theatre were negative. I warmed up to the movie instantly and it’s something I can’t explain in mere words. The movie felt very raw, rough on the edges, uncomfortable even; yet, I found it immensely appealing. Readers who have seen the film will understand that I am talking about the post interval portions, which most of the reviewers had panned. Abandoning the convenient way of telling a story, Ali audaciously employs an interesting narrative device, instead – jump cuts. So, we have overlapping dialogues when the scenes jump back and forth, songs intercut with linear scenes and so on and so forth. What’s the point, you might argue. I’ll try to mouth this carefully. This is the journey of an ordinary boy who goes on to become a nationwide sensation. And by fracturing up the different phases of his life, Ali lets us into his mind. We live in him, in the moment. And we are as shocked as others when we jump to another phase and see him behave like a total tool. It provides a perspective and we gradually get a hold on the catharsis that Janardhan has gone through.

…To Be Continued

Written By: Gyandeep Pattnayak