Film
Rockstar
Rockstar is a fever dream of a film about a musician's rise through heartbreak and obsession. Visually lavish, sonically intoxicating, it's less concerned with plot coherence than with capturing the delirium of artistic ambition and romantic devastation. It swings wildly between gorgeous and melodramatic, and that's entirely the point. For anyone who's felt music as a physical need.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you love songs that come out of restlessness and a yearning for something you cannot name, and you don't mind a love story that wrestles with its own mess of ambition and loyalty.
Skip it if you want a tight, plot-driven romance, since this one wanders through long stretches of music and feeling at a pace that can test patience across its nearly three hours.
What it asks of you: Settle in for almost three hours of a story that moves in long emotional swells, the songs doing much of the talking as the mood swings from giddy to bruised.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Aashiqui 22013
A similar tragic romance built on music and self-destruction. The chemistry between leads crackles, and the soundtrack becomes as much a character as the lovers themselves. Equally unafraid of excess.
But The plotting is thin and the emotional beats can feel manipulative. If you want subtlety, this isn't your film.
Udaan2010
A quieter but equally raw portrait of artistic ambition versus family expectation. Ranbir's peer Rajat Barmeman gives a breakthrough performance; the film earns every moment of its emotional weight.
But It moves slowly and deliberately. The payoff is internal rather than dramatic, which some find tedious.
Highway2014
Same director (Imtiaz Ali) exploring obsession and freedom through two damaged people. The road-trip format lets both the landscape and the relationship breathe. Visually stunning and genuinely unsettling.
But The central premise is ethically murky in ways the film doesn't fully reckon with. Alia Bhatt's character's arc will frustrate many viewers.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Rockstar
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Natrang2010
Both films treat artistic obsession as a kind of beautiful sickness—the boundary between transcendence and breakdown dissolves. Both build to fever-pitch climaxes where the protagonist is consumed by their own creation.
A Marathi-language film about a failed actor who finds redemption and obsession through classical theatre. Like Rockstar, it's about art as redemption and self-annihilation; like Rockstar, it builds to delirium. Utterly transportive.
But It's in Marathi with no English subtitles widely available. The theatre sequences will mystify anyone unfamiliar with Indian classical forms.
More like this (8)
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani2013
Ranbir and Deepika in a film that's equally intoxicated by youth, music, and the idea of transformation. Far sunnier than Rockstar, but cut from similar cloth—energy, romance, self-discovery through another person.
But It pivots into romance-film territory in the second half, losing the edge that made the opening sing. The wealthy-people-solve-problems-with-travel vibe doesn't wear well.
Lootera2013
A heartbreaking period romance about two people who destroy each other through love and circumstance. Ranveer Singh is magnificent; the film moves like a ballad. Deeply romantic without being saccharine.
But The pacing is glacial and the ending is devastatingly bleak. Not a film that offers comfort.
Kabali2016
Rajinikanth in a stylish crime drama that prioritizes mood and music over narrative logic. Slick, surreal, and deeply weird in the best way. An actor at full swagger becomes the film's entire substance.
But The plot barely exists and the logic is dreamlike to the point of incoherence. Tamil-dubbed, which some find distracting.
Barfi!2012
A romance told through gesture and expression rather than dialogue, built on genuine affection and tragic circumstance. Ranbir's co-star Priyanka is luminous; the film is visually precious without being precious.
But The mute protagonist can read as gimmicky. The emotional manipulations are obvious and sometimes resent-worthy.
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil2016
Imtiaz Ali reunites with Ranbir for another fever-dream romance set against music and travel. The cinematography is gorgeous; the melancholia is genuine. A film that understands why some people are addicted to the wrong person.
But It's indulgent and plot-light, coasting on style and performance. Some find it self-pitying rather than moving.
Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar2023
A lighter, recent Ranbir romance that still carries his gift for conveying emotional turmoil beneath charm. Shraddha Kapoor is excellent; it's funny without losing depth. Proof he can play heartbreak in modern settings.
But It's a romantic comedy first, which means the stakes feel lower and the ending more predictable. A palate cleanser, not a gut-punch.
Requiem for a Dream2000
Both films use music, editing, and visual distortion to make the audience feel what their protagonist feels—the rush of obsession, then the collapse. Both are about the cost of wanting something more than survival.
Darren Aronofsky's assault on the senses about addiction in all its forms. Like Rockstar, it's visually overwhelming, aurally hypnotic, and uninterested in making you comfortable. The montage sequences are as close to experiencing obsession as cinema gets.
But It's relentlessly dark and the final act is genuinely difficult to watch. Not cathartic—actively crushing. Very American in its despair.
Rang De Basanti2006
Both follow young men from naïveté to devastation through passion—for music in Rockstar, for justice in Rang De Basanti. Both capture that specific Indian male experience of transformation through intensity, and both suggest that survival often means giving up who you were.
Aamir Khan in a film about idealism, friendship, and the moment it all breaks. Less about music than Rockstar, but equally about young men discovering who they are and being destroyed by it. The energy is infectious; the grief is real.
But It's aggressively didactic about politics and has aged into its worst instincts. The tonal whiplash from comedy to tragedy is severe.
People
Cast
Ranbir KapoorJanardan Jakhar / Jordan
Nargis FakhriHeer Kaul
Shammi KapoorUstad Jameel Khan
Aditi Rao HydariSheena
Kumud MishraKhatana
Piyush MishraDhingra- Moufid AzizJai
Shernaz PatelNeena Kaul
Jaideep AhlawatJordan's Brother- Shreya NarayanJordan's Sister-in-Law
Sanjana SanghiMandy
Directing
- Imtiaz AliDirector
Writing
- Irshad KamilLyricist
- Imtiaz AliStory
Production
- Mukesh ChhabraCasting
- K RaghunandanConsulting Producer
- Giulia SalvadoriLine Producer
- Dhilin MehtaProducer
- Sunil LullaProducer