AR Rahman started composing music for Rockstar ‘no charge, no nothing’, reveals Imtiaz Ali: ‘Big guys never talk about money’

Imtiaz Ali recalled how he pitched Rockstar to AR Rahman, and how minutes into their meeting he decided to stop the narration and take an instinctive new direction.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | October 19, 2023 12:50 PM IST

3 min read

AR Rahman composed the music for Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar.

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Director Imtiaz Ali looked back on his first meetings with music composer AR Rahman, and revealed that they were supposed to work on Rockstar even before he directed Jab We Met. Back then, the film was supposed to star John Abraham in the lead role, and Rahman had even started composing the music for free. But, Imtiaz said in a new interview, the film was delayed for different reasons, and was resurrected some years later with Ranbir Kapoor in the lead.

Speaking to actor Roshan Abbas on his podcast, Imtiaz said that Rahman didn’t charge any money for the work that he put into Rockstar in its initial version, and that even though they could’ve collaborated on Jab We Met or Love Aaj Kal, Rahman was noncommittal about those projects. He would keep asking about Rockstar, which was eventually released in 2012, over five years after they first spoke about it.

Also read | Imtiaz Ali says Shah Rukh Khan’s Jab Harry Met Sejal was ‘ordinary’ on purpose, because he didn’t want to be seen as ‘intellectual’ director

He said, “UTV was supposed to produce the film, and they were working with Rahman on Rang De Basanti. That’s how I got the approach. They said, ‘Rahman kya bolta hai kya nahi bolta kuch samajh nahi aata, if he’s committing or not committing, but you go meet him’.” But Imtiaz had the meeting, and revealed that something made him stop the narration moments after he’d begun. Instinctively, he decided to recite a poem about love to Rahman, which seemed to pique the musician’s interest. I knew right there that I had him,” Imtiaz said.

“Then he started making the music, but the film didn’t get made that time,” Imtiaz said, adding, “He did some sessions, no charge, no nothing. Big guys never talk about money. Hardly anybody that I’ve admired in this line of work has spoken about money.”

Also starring Nargis Fakhri, Rockstar continued Imtiaz’s streak of success, which would continue for two more films – Highway and Tamasha – before being broken by Jab Harry Met Sejal. It also gave Ranbir Kapoor one of his big early hits, and established him as one of the biggest stars of his generation. Rahman‘s music was acclaimed as well.

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