Imtiaz Ali wasn’t impressed with Rockstar when he re-watched it in theatres recently: ‘What the hell is this film? Where is the screenplay?’

The outcome of a film is unpredictable: a well-crafted movie can either become a hit or a failure, and the same holds true for poorly made or average films. A movie that initially fails to gain recognition may eventually develop a cult following, while a film that is well-received at the time of its release might be overlooked later on. While numerous factors influence a film’s quality, ultimately, its ability to withstand the test of time matters the most and not many films succeed in this regard. Even though Rockstar (2011), which served as a turning point in actor Ranbir Kapoor’s career, achieved both box office success and critical acclaim upon release, it appears that the film hasn’t aged well for one person, director Imtiaz Ali. Opening up about the film, Imtiaz did not hesitate to criticise his writing and shared his feelings upon watching it recently when Rockstar was re-released in theatres.

Discussing the significant impact of Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman on his cinematic vision, Imtiaz said, “He brings about a perspective or a dimension which did not exist in my mind before. It’s usually a sound of music; it’s not as though he says words. It’s like, I listen to something he makes and realise that he’s seen what I told him from a point of view which didn’t exist; it’s a third dimension. So if I take this (what Rahman made), I’ll have to make certain changes and certain soundscapes will come into the film. I mostly go ahead and make those changes.”

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“I saw Rockstar, twice, in the theatres recently. And kept thinking, ‘What the hell is this film?! Where is the screenplay?!’ I am just seeing music and this willfulness. Every song is messed up. Every song is twisted in the end with some other song barging into this one. Then live sound is coming; the live qawwali is heard on ‘Kun Faya Kun,’ and then the sound goes away. What the hell was happening down there?! It just feels like some visual strung to a narrative of music,” he said during a chat with film critic and journalist Rajeev Masand held as part of the 15th edition of the Indian Film Festival Of Melbourne.

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“The story is fine. There’s this guy who wants to break his heart so that he can become a big star and he goes after this girl for that — oh nice joke, it’s over. But what sustains it is the music. Like, when he’s on stage and that music comes before ‘Nadaan Parinde’ or when he goes to the hospital and there are drums and those chords,” he said, adding that he’s obsessed with the composer’s room where he likes to watch music being made live.

Also starring Nargis Fakhri, Aditi Rao Hydari, Kumud Mishra and Piyush Mishra in key roles, Rockstar was the first collaboration between Imtiaz and Rahman, who have since partnered on three more films: Highway (2014), Tamasha (2015) and Amar Singh Chamkila (2024).