Rockstar

The film stars Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri in lead roles, with Aditi Rao Hydari, Piyush Mishra, Shernaz Patel, Kumud Mishra and Shammi Kapoor 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 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 ₹500 million (US$6.3 million), the film grossed ₹1.08 billion (US$14 million) worldwide, emerging as one of the highest-grossing films of the year, majorly appealing to the young urban crowd. It received widespread critical acclaim, 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.

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 like Jim Morrison, 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’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 to 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 country-wide 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 highly 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 aplastic anaemia. Jordan’s presence causes Heer to somewhat recover and her blood level 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.”