'Rockstar' Ranbir Kapoor doubles price

While the verdict on Rockstar's performance at the box office may yet be pending, actor Ranbir Kapoor has already increased his rates after his much-acclaimed acting in the film. The actor has hiked his rates from Rs 8 crore to a whopping 15 crore. Talk of a Great Leap Forward! Ranbir,who is currently working on Anurag Basu's Barfee and Ayan Mukerji's Yeh Jawani Hai Diwani, is charging Rs 8 crore for both. But the Rockstar will reportedly be charging around Rs 15 crore for all the future offers he gets.

While the talk of Ranbir's hike has been received with scepticism by some in the industry, especially before Rockstar's evaluation, corporate houses seem keen on signing Ranbir for future ventures.

"Ranbir is in a very happy space now. While Rockstar has not been appreciated by a certain section of the audience, there is a clear section which has lapped up the film and Ranbir's stupendous performance," a source told Mumbai Mirror.

Incidentally at present, the Khans charge around Rs 27 crore along with profits, Hrithik Roshan charges Rs 20 crore and Ajay Devgn charges around Rs 18 crore.

Clearly, Ranbir has already made it to the league of superstars.

Read more »

Rockstar opens well at box-office

Ranbir Kapoor starrer Rockstar has got off to a flying start with the film managing to earn Rs 11 crore plus on the opening day itself.

Directed by director Imtiaz Ali, known for making films like Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal, the story revolves around a Jat boy who aspires to become a famous rockstar like Jim Morrison.

The interesting pairing of Ranbir and Nargis Fakri topped with melodious music by AR Rahman has managed to draw in the crowds.

According to a press release, the film has managed to earn Rs 11.25 crore plus on the opening day on Friday, across all cinemas in India.

Even though the film has received a mixed response at the box-office, Ranbir's performance has been appreciated by everyone - audience and the critics.

Co-produced by Eros International and Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision, the film was made on a budget of more than Rs.60 crore and has been extensively shot in Delhi in locations like St Stephen's College, Connaught Place and Nizamuddin, among others.

Read more »

Rockstar: Hype and reality

 

An attribute of the advertising world, ‘look' has become the new currency in Bollywood. Perhaps that's why the promos look authentic, but the moment the film begins, the fakery becomes obvious. Imtiaz Ali's latest is yet another good-looking product where a promising new-age director fails to translate his thought into something convincing.

Based on the Sufi premise that a crying heart is the reservoir of creativity, Ali follows the life of Janardan Jakhar, a Jat boy from Delhi, who is fascinated by the guitar and Jim Morrison but has no idea how to achieve his musical goals. Advised by a friend (Kumud Mishra), he decides to pursue an unachievable target called Heer (Nargis Fakhri), a Kashmiri Pandit studying at St. Stephen's. As expected, the proverbial Seeta has a Geeta hidden inside her. In Janardan, she sees a hope to fulfil her rebellious ideas before she gets married. The two strike a chord but take eons to realise they are made for each other. In the process, Janardan's heart gets really broken and he becomes Jordan, the rockstar.

A film works when the pain experienced by the characters on screen permeates into the darkness of the theatre. No such luck here. After an explosive opening, you become restless for lack of ingenuity on the part of the writer-director even when he has got the ingredients to turn it into a never-before experience. A. R. Rahman's soulful tunes, Anil Mehta's breathtaking camerawork and a malleable lead actor, but still it remains a glazed canvas. It has a lot to do with inappropriate casting and an overtly indulgent director, who seem to have started with the idea of making a global blockbuster with Ranbir Kapoor and then started work on the content.

In comes Nargis, an American model, who looks the part of the canvas but when it comes to performance she is nothing more than an exaggerated pout. Her expressions and dialogue delivery are too foreign for the part. She makes Ranbir look better than actually he is. The Bandra boy tries hard to fill in the shoes of the gawky boy from Pitampura but the effort shows.

Together, Ranbir and Nargis fail to set our imagination on fire. Ali has given them enough ammunition in the form of some inspired writing but it doesn't click particularly in the second half which demands editing. Why did a rebellious girl agree for marriage and then at first opportunity decide to break free only to feel guilty all over again? — new-age stereotypes.

Still, it could have worked as a take on the life of a rockstar, but here Ali, left with little time and obviously no reference points, has managed to give us only some edgy but unconvincing snapshots leaving us with more questions than answers. His effort to turn Jordan's personal pain, feeling of alienation into something global looks patchy, perhaps an effort to fit in “Sadda Haq”.

Rockstar

Genre: Drama

Director: Imtiaz Ali

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Nargis Fakhri, Kumud Mishra, Piyush Mishra

Storyline: The transformation of a Delhi boy into a global rockstar.

Bottomline: A muffled voice.

Read more »

Will Ranbir's Rockstar experiment pay off at BO?

Ranbir Kapoor has matured with each film and 'Rockstar' may get him into the league of thinking actors. As per media reports the actor has undergone rigorous practice sessions to come up with a believable Janardhan Jakhar, the character Ranbir is playing in 'Rockstar'.

Recently, Ranbir has expressed the desire of becoming the most sought after actor in some of his interviews which shows how high is the actor aiming. It's not likely for an actor to make such high claims after just seven films but the success of 'Rajneeti' coupled with the initial hype of 'Rockstar' has given Ranbir the confidence to express his aspirations.

This isn't just about the confidence or the latent potential that the young Kapoor scion could possess but about the planning with which Ranbir is proceeding.
Ranbir and Nargis gave a glimpse of their chemistry at 'Rockstar' live concert in Mumbai
IBNLive

Age is definitely on his side and so is the backing of the film industry but a good part of Ranbir's exclusive planning will depend on how 'Rockstar' is received.

So far Ranbir has avoided falling for the so called mannerism, essential for a Hindi film actor. Bollywood actors rather stars have banked more upon their special styles of dialogue delivery or distinct ways of dancing to maximize the fan base but Ranbir has avoided any such thing despite being a newcomer.

Kapoor is not recognised as a perfectionist like Aamir Khan but the courage that he has shown for experimentation makes him a good choice for unusual roles, something which established actors avoid or try to get away with huge promotional drives.

'Rocket Singh-Salesman of the Year' may not have garnered piles of money but the portrayal of Harpreet Singh Bedi was close to life. The character did not show even a trace of regret in spite of being sad in the semi-climax which expression wise was a good thing to achieve for a new actor. Most of the actors would have made the role appear filmy regardless of the director's instructions.

The humility and learning attitude of the actor was visible in 'Rajneeti' where he did not try to match up the screen presence of Nana Patekar and Manoj Bajpai but played the second fold to them.

Ranbir is expected to do more 'Anjaana Anjaani' and 'Bachna Ae Haseeno' for the sake of remaining the quintessential Bollywood hero but his anxiety of emerging as a capable actor gives hope for his future.

Imtiaz Ali is an established director by now, still the role of Janardhan Jakhar looks like a difficult choice, especially in a time when Ranbir's contemporaries form a bunch of tradition followers.

Rockstar's hype can affect Ranbir's career if the film fails to match up the expectation level but the spirit shown by Ranbir Kapoor makes us speculate about what type of actor we can expect Ranbir to be in future.

Read more »

‘Rockstar’ music launch at Nizamuddin Dargah

Mumbai: Bollywood swears by its spiritual connect, especially when it is Delhi’s Nizamuddin dargah.

Legend has it that showman Raj Kapoor frequently visited the famous dargah. As of now, Bollywood composer AR Rahman and filmmaker Imtiaz Ali are regulars at the sacred shrine of sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya.


Apparently, after shooting a qawwali sequence at Nizamuddin Dargah, filmmaker Imtiaz Ali has decided to release the music of his upcoming release ‘Rockstar’ at the sacrosanct space.

The launch, which will take place by the end of September, will see the cast and crew of ‘Rockstar’ including Imtiaz Ali, Ranbir Kapoor and AR Rahman.

While Imtiaz was unavailable for comment, dargah in-charge Syed Afsar Ali Nizami said, “Imtiaz bhai has shot the qawwali at the dargah and even Rahman bhai has a very special place for it in his heart. The dargah features in the movie too, and we hope for the success of its music.”

Read more »

Ranbir Kapoor milks cows

Actors go any length to get into the skin of their characters in their films, and to promote them. Ranbir Kapoor is no exception.

The actor was recently spotted living with a Jat family in the outskirts of Delhi to experience their lifestyle as a part of a research for his character in his upcoming film, Rockstar, directed by Imtiaz Ali. Ranbir plays Janardan Jakhar, the youngest son in a traditional Jat family and it was important for him to pick up their mannerisms to play his role to perfection.

Imtiaz and Ranbir spent an entire day with a family based in the outskirts of Delhi. They were seen hanging around with the boys of the family, sleeping on the cots, eating out at the local dhabas and enjoying hookah in the evening. In fact, Ranbir was even seen helping men in the family milk cows, says a source from the unit.

The source continues, It was such an amusing sight and everyone was in splits. The duo learnt a lot about the lifestyle of a typical Jat family and also had a great time doing things they wouldnt get to experience otherwise.

Read more »