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Ranbir Kapoor was to begin shooting for Saawariya when a friend narrated the story of Rockstar to him. The film was to be shot with some other actor then. Three and a half years later, director Imtiaz Ali approached Ranbir with another script. When Ranbir casually asked him about Rockstar, Imtiaz said that things hadn’t worked out. Two weeks later, Imtiaz called Ranbir and said that he had taken Rockstar back to the writing board and he would get back to him (Ranbir) later. Three months later, Imitaz went to RK with a script and a producer! In Ranbir’s words, “I offered Imitaz to make Rockstar!”
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Nargis Fakhri, who plays the female lead in Rockstar, didn’t know a word of Hindi before she started shooting for the film. In fact, the American model had never heard of her director Imtiaz Ali, co-star Ranbir Kapoor or even Bollywood super star Amitabh Bachchan before!
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Ranbir Kapoor’s character in Rockstar, Janardhan / Jordan, idolises the iconic rock singer, songwriter and poet Jim Morrison.
Ranbir Kapoor learnt to play the guitar for Rockstar. He also made sure that he was present in A. R. Rahman’s studio for the recording of each and every song of the film, so that he could know the songs better. Says director Imtiaz Ali, “Ranbir, too learnt the guitar and spent several days and nights at Rahman’s studio. This way, he had greater ownership of the music while being on stage during shoots. He didn’t have to pretend he knew the music, because he actually did.”
Ranbir Kapoor, Imtiaz Ali & Ranbir’s voice in the film, Mohit Chauhan, visited Delhi’s famous Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah. The dargah is believed to be the originating source of a qawwali in the film. In fact, the trio launched the music of the film at the Dargah itself!
Yesteryear Bollywood superstar and Ranbir Kapoor’s grandfather, Shammi Kapoor, plays a small role in Rockstar. The late actor, famous for his Yahoo song all over the world, essays the character of Ustad Jameel Khan, someone who is the first to recognise Janardan’s (Ranbir) formidable talent in the movie.
Director Imtiaz Ali believes that A. R. Rahman was one of the most important people when it came to making Rockstar. Ali says, “… just as you cast actors, you look for the best guy to compose that style of music. Most often, the best guy is Rahman sir. In this case, he very specifically was. I was told Rahman sir doesn’t respect your time. We were supposed to have nine songs, but there are 14 tracks on the CD and around six extra pieces in the film; which makes it 20 in all. None of this has come late. I only had to tell him that I am shooting and the song would reach well in time.”
“The film wanted to get itself made. It decided when it wanted to get made, how it wanted to get made and by who. I decided to never to get in its way. Because I always knew that this film was bigger than me.”
The budget of Rockstar is in the range of Rs. 60-62 crore, including production cost, publicity and print. Rs. 50 crore (approx) went into the production of the film.
Besides the fact that Janardhan (Ranbir’s character) is a fan of American rock idol Jim Morrison, two other foreign actors feature in Rockstar. Rahman roped in Orianthi Panagaris, lead guitarist of the late king of pop Michael Jackson’s team, to play for the song Sadda Haq. Also, Brazilian model, Moufid Aziz, makes his debut in Bollywood as Nargis’ husband in the movie.
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