A love story that does not make you cringe

Rating: 9/10 (6 December 2011)

The different thing about Rockstar and with all Imtiaz Ali movies is that it almost purposefully subverts all the accepted rules of movie-making and still comes up as a story that never shocks you, only lulls you into accepting what is happening on the screen as something that just is.
It starts with the simple fact the there is a marriage in the story and the people being married are not the lovers. This situation has been done to death in umpteen films where the ceremony is interrupted at the last moment by the lover, who is then handed over the bride by the sacrificing groom. In this film, we don't even get to see the marriage. It happens off-screen somewhere in the middle of the several flash backs and flash forwards, where you do not care. When the leads meet after some years, and the love story begins in earnest, you stop caring for right and wrong and start wondering how this will all end. There are several such minute shocks in the movie. From the detailed character roles, to the length of Ranbir Kapoor's hair which serves as a faithful barometer of his connection to the physical world. From the lilting musical score, to the tastefully shot locales - this is an Indian love story told in the language of the world.
I must also add a note on the actors. Virtually everyone in the movie is overshadowed by the towering performance of Ranbir Kapoor who loses himself in this one. He gets almost everything right - his mannerisms, wardrobe all suggest a man who has stopped caring what the world thinks, and his dialog delivery is still steeped in innocence of a small town boy who speaks his English with a tone. Nargis Fakhri starts out very rough, stumbles then redeems herself in the closing shots. Others glint and shine throughout the movie, but this one belongs to Ranbir Kapoor.
I gave it a nine, as this is not a perfect movie. But as far as romantic movies in contemporary cinema go - this is by far the best one in recent years.