Rockstar

Drama Musical Romance

U/A

Hindi

November 11, 2011

2hr 40min

Status: released

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Ranbir Kapoor’s role of Jordan is loosely based on Imtiaz Ali’s Jat friend, who lived in a small settlement in Pitam Pura.
Imtiaz Ali had seen Kareena Kapoor’s performance in his Jab We Met 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 marks the posthumous film appearance of Shammi Kapoor, following his death on 14 August 2011.
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 Imtiaz 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.
Kapoor had to transform himself into a rockstar: he practiced guitar at A. R. Rahman’s studio in Chennai for many days, read Kurt Cobain’s biography and familiarised himself with Jats.
Rockstar’s 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 Pandit Pheran, Dejhor (ear ornament) and Taranga (head cap worn underneath the veil). This also happens to be the first time in Bollywood that a Kashmiri Pandit wedding was shown.
Rockstar was released on 11 November 2011 and saw a good advance opening at multiplexes closer to educational institutions. The film was released on 2,500 screens and saw cinema halls running 14 to 15 shows in a day.
On the day of release, Tibetans in Chennai and Kangra protested against the Central Board of Film Certification asking the filmmakers to censor scenes featuring the Tibetan flag. Upon release, Rockstar received generally mixed-to-positive reviews, with high praise directed towards Ranbir Kapoor’s performance and Rahman’s soundtrack, but received criticism for its story and screenplay.
It was one of the top-grossing films of that year, managing to appeal the youngsters in the cities. Made on a budget of ₹500 million (US$6.3 million), Rockstar grossed ₹1.08 billion (US$14 million) worldwide. The album of the film is often termed as the best music album of the decade.
Rockstar has won several accolades. At the 57th Filmfare Awards, Rockstar received 10 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Ali) and Best Female Debut (Fakhri), and won 5 awards, including Best Actor (Ranbir Kapoor) and Best Music Director (Rahman). Over the years, the film has gone to achieve a cult following.
Jordan’s (Ranbir Kapoor) singing voice was given by singer Mohit Chauhan.