Rockstar of Imtiaz Ali deserves a watch for its light heart but bold and unconventional story about a man's self-destructive success and his mystifying love story. Even if it lacks smoothness, Ranbir Kapoor makes for many of its flaws. The film isn't gritty enough to be a dark romantic, but thankfully, it uses its story well.

It's been almost three weeks since SRK's "Ra One" has hit the screens. Though it did become one of the highest grossers of all time, it's gigantic production cost meant it's an average success. With exhaustive publicity & an unprecedented release in over 4000 screens , the whole industry were expecting it to break all existing records.It might be due to this very fact, that there has been no releases until Imtiaz Ali decided to break the dead lock with his Ranbir starrer "Rockstar". So can Imtiaz continue his purple patch especially with Ranbir & Rahman giving him company???

Rock music is one of those genres which has been diversified so much that defining it in a single line is difficult. However, through the ages there has been an array of dynamic rock artists who captured the imagination of the audience be it Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen or Jim Morrison. Janardhan Jakkar/JJ/Jordan (Ranbir Kapoor) from Delhi's Pitampura is one of those individuals who dreams of becoming a cult like Jim Morrison. The film unfolds in Prague where Jordan mesmerises the audience with his concert. But his journey from a middle class aspiring singer to the charismatic icon hasnt been easy. After having faced rejection & humiliation initially, Janardhan stumbles upon the idea adviced by his well wisher that all great musicians had gone through heart break & pain. This entices him to flirt with the college heart throb Heer (Nargis Fakhri), hoping that she would break his heart. But things gets worser than he had anticipated. So will Jordan get Heer or was this the sacrifice that he had to make to attain stardom???

Imtiaz Ali's brand of films has always sparked curiosity as it invariably focuses on contemporary romance ignited between two unlike individuals with the female usually being of the wild type be it Geet of "Jab We Met" or Meera of "Luv Aaj Kal". In addition it will be a travelogue of sorts, traversing various awesome locales. This is pretty much the case in "Rockstar" as well, but I would have to say this was a far riskier & braver attempt. The first half tracks the transformation of Janardhan to Jordan along with some exhilarating moments between the lead pairs. But the second half fails to live upto the expectations as it meanders along aimlessly & finally concluding in a rather tame manner with the audience given the option to infer.

A.R Rahman is at his absolutely best with the music setting the charts on fire & also it seams in perfectly with the mood of the film. Though "Sadda Haq" is the most popular as of now, all the others are equally impressive since various genres has been tackled with equal finesse. The visuals by Anil Mehta is another aspect which deserves a special mention.

Time & again, Ranbir has proved that he is indeed the future of Bollywood. There is no doubt regarding the amount of effort that he puts into each project that he commits. Over here as well, Ranbir has been absolutely stunning; infact the very best in his career as he transforms from the innocent, jovial character to the edgy, temperamental Jordan & this film will definitely go down in his career graph as one of the standout ones. Without sounding over zealous, I believe that he is gonna sweep all the awards next year. Nargis definitely has the looks & shares amazing chemistry with Ranbir, but she has got to work on her acting skills.Shammi Kapoor graces the silver screen for the last time ever & puts in an impressive act.

Verdict: The film will have an impressive opening owing to the catchy promos & film drought since "Ra One". Being made at a modest 60 crores, I believe it will have the urban audiences interested. In short, the film lacks punch in the second half but it should still garner impressive returns. As far as my opinion goes, it's definitely a one time watch as Ranbir & Rahman are at their absolute best!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards...Ben

Imtiaz Ali understands the love stories to the core but this time he makes two mistakes; first he casts Nargis who need acting lessons and second he allows his indulgence to allow movie to go for extra half an hour. Don’t start thinking, that you should avoid this movie. Imtiaz gives his golden touch to first half of the movie and plays the master stroke by casting Ranbir Kapoor as the central protagonist. Rahman’s rocking music and Mohit’s golden voice are the integral parts of the story and help the movie whenever direction and editing falters. But above all, this movie belongs to Ranbir Kapoor who gives more than a riveting performance. As J.J he is lovable and as Jordan he is irresistible. He makes you feel the pain of being in love in every scene he is in. The movie is packed with witty dialogues and soulful moments.
Far from perfect piece of cinema, this is one of the most poignant piece of bollywood cinema. Go and experience the Rockstar from the hands of Imtiaz Ali who keeps on exploring the different dimensions of love.