Rockstar clocks in 8 years: Five best things about the film

There are very few films that live with the audience for years. The characters from the movie make a room for themselves inside fans. Films become evergreen and cult because of their narrative structure and Ranbir Kapoor's Rockstar happens to be one of them. It beautifully portrays the journey of a young college student Janardhan Jakhar to self-destructive rockstar Jordan Negative. The film had a very unique release date (11.11.11). Here are the five best things from the film on its eighth anniversary.

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Eight years of Rockstar

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Jim Morrison

There is a foreshadowing element in the first act of the film when Janardhan (Ranbir Kapoor) comes across the reference of the famous rockstar Jim Morrison, who was one of the most influential figures in American rock history and died at a very young age. The mention of Jim Morrison leaves a deep impact on Janardhan. It moves him slowly towards the road to Jordan Negative.

Hawa Hawa

A.R Rahman's beautiful composition and the brilliant lyrics that were penned down by Irshad Kamil were beautifully weaved into Mohit Chauhan's voice. The rich cultural location of Prague and Ranbir Kapoor made the song more spectacular. The song showcases the tale of a lonely princess who is trapped in the royal kingdom and seeks freedom which goes very well with the loneliness of Heer played by Nargis Fakhri at that particular point. It also reminds of the European folktale The Twelve Dancing Princesses.

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References of Rumi

Away beyond all concepts of wrong-doing and right-doing, there is a world and I will meet you there. The last closing sequence of the film ends with a Sufi quote by famous poet Rumi. There are many references from his work within the movie.

The Sufism from Hazrat Nizammudin Auliya

The best thing about Rockstar is that it pushes the character to experience a journey to find and explore himself through the Sufi dargah of Hazrat Nizammudin. It detaches him from the idea of fame. The famous Qawwali Kun Faya Kun was performed at the dargah itself which also features the Nizami brothers.

The Dichotomy of Ustaad Jameel Khan 

Rockstar was the last film of the living legend Shammi Kapoor. He played a mentor to Jordan as Ustaad Jameel Khan and introduced him to the other side of fame. The first meeting between the two in the movie goes very casual as Jordan takes the music of his shehnai very casually. Ranbir's character starts to transform when he gets lost while playing along with the classical music by Shaami Kapoor in Dichotomy of fame where he begins to feel isolated. 

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