Sunday, November 20, 2011

Rockstar by Imtiaz Ali

I was looking forward to "Rockstar"... for nothing else but because Imtiaz Ali has proven before that he is not only a trustworthy story teller but also a sincere one at that. Although i did not enjoy Love Aaj Kal as much as Socha Na tha and Jab we Met... there is no denying that here again, Ali had attempted to tell a story differently, bravely and sincerely and all of that within the realms of commercial cinema.

The promo's of Rockstar only made my heart grow fonder. This looked good. Visuals like those were exciting and to look forward... now only if the film was as good as the promos...

Last week i realized, the film was not as good as the promos but all the same it was a good film and as has been Ali's tradition... it was a sincere film. It is that very sincerity, may be, that has made him keep those fifteen minutes which have added to the length and bothered many. They did not bother me. I can sit through a long film, provided its not hamming or repeating itself or of course if i don't have to pee!!

The pain and angst of Janardhan aka Jordan played by Ranbir was not made of the regular rom-coms, it was brutal longing for someone. It was a firce and pure need that required the time, it has taken. In hindsight, may it could have been kept shorter but in hindsight all of us can make great films... what matters is what has been made now and in that context Rockstar is a well made film.

The only thing disappointing to me was the beautiful Nargis Fakhri who cannot act to save her and her director's life and face! She is stunning to look at and thats where one's judgement of her should end. Its her first film though and with Hindi, I'm sure she'll learn acting too...

After a long time, i saw a wholesome Hindi film that did not seem patchy with illogical action and sequences simply put for the sake of so called entertainment. After a long time, i saw a Hindi film that narrated a story very fluently and entertainingly without succumbing to cheap thrills and gimmicks.

All films have a few screws to tighten... having said that... Rockstar has very few that need that. It is a good film and requires a theater viewing.