Last update:01 November 2024, 2:09 p.m. IST

Imtiaz Ali didn’t like Rockstar after rewatching it recently.

Imtiaz Ali talked about Rockstar.

Rockstar, helmed by Ranbir Kapoor, is considered by many to be one of Imtiaz Ali’s most notable films. Apart from its gripping storyline and Ranbir Kapoor’s exceptional performance, another memorable aspect of the film is its music. However, Imtiaz Ali said that during recent reshoots, he realized that he was not happy with the outcome of the film and the way the music had dominated the storyline in certain scenes.

“I saw Rockstar twice in the cinema recently. And I kept thinking, “What is this movie?!” Where’s the script?!’ I only see the music and this stubbornness. Every song is messed up. Each song gets a twist at the end with another song breaking into this one. Then the live sound arrives; live qawwali is heard on “Kun Faya Kun”, then the sound disappears. What was going on there?! It just feels like a visual linked to a musical narrative,” he said in a conversation with Rajeev Masand.

“The story is good. There’s this guy who wants to break her heart to become a big star and he goes after this girl for it – oh nice joke, it’s over. But what sustains it is the music. For example, when he is on stage and this music precedes ‘Nadaan Parinde’ or when he goes to the hospital and there are drums and these chords,” he said.

Imtiaz Ali and AR Rahman first worked together at Rockstar in 2011. They later collaborated on many other projects, including Highway (2014), Tamasha (2015), and Amar Singh Chamkila (2024). Imtiaz and Rahman frequently collaborate with lyricist Irshad Kamil to weave cinematic magic. Imtiaz also spoke about his frequent collaborations with AR Rahman.

“It brings a perspective or a dimension that didn’t exist in my mind before. It is usually a musical sound; It’s not like he’s saying words. It’s as if I listened to something he was doing and realized that he saw what I told him from a point of view that didn’t exist; it’s a third dimension. So if I take this (which Rahman did), I will have to make certain changes and certain soundscapes will come into the film. Most of the time, I make these changes,” concluded Imtiaz Ali.