Imtiaz Ali admits losing ‘Rockstar’ script: ‘I rewrote it from memory’

Imtiaz Ali's 'Rockstar' revolves around Janardhan Jakhar, played by Ranbir Kapoor, a young man from Delhi who dreams of becoming a rockstar like his idol, Jim Morrison

You’d imagine a director reading out his script, beat by beat, to an actor. But what if we told you it was the other way around with ‘Rockstar’? On the latest episode of Mid-day’s Sit With Hitlist series, Imtiaz Ali recalled how he had approached Ranbir Kapoor for a different film, but they ended up reviving his long-forgotten script that had done the rounds. 

Imtiaz shared, “Ranbir Kapoor has a lot of friends who are in the film industry. Many years back was making this film, ‘Rockstar’ and it didn't get made, but there was talk about it and there was the story must have gone around. I was back to making Rockstar’. I approached Ranbir for it. I met him at a screening. I hadn't seen ‘Saawariya’ (2007). Deepika (Padukone) had told him everything about me. Because she was in (Love Aaj Kal).”

He continued, “We decided to meet. I went and told him the script that I came to narrate to him, which was some other script. And then he said, ‘Sir, aap ki woh wali, I've heard that you had a film.’ So, I was like, ‘How do you know?’ He said, ‘This guy who says that I want to become a musician, but I don't have any tragedy in my life. That's your film, right?’ So I said, ‘Yeah’. And then he started to tell me the story. I said, ‘Okay, what else did you hear?’”

"Ranbir was telling me only the story. And I was looking at this guy. Like, this is the guy for this film. Then I said, ‘Oh, so you want to make this film?’ He says, ‘Yeah, sir, let's make this’. I said, ‘Okay fine. Give me some time. I'll see where the script is and write it. And then I'll bring it to you.’ I'd lost the script. So I had to write it again. I rewrote it from memory,” added Imtiaz Ali. 

Interestingly, John Abraham was the initial choice for Ranbir's character.  

'Rockstar' revolves around Janardhan Jakhar, played by Ranbir, a young man from Delhi who dreams of becoming a rockstar like his idol, Jim Morrison. He transforms and adopts the persona of Jordan when he meets Heer Kaul, played by Nargis Fakhri, a free-spirited girl with whom he falls in love. The movie portrays Janardhan's journey as he navigates through love, heartbreak, and fame in pursuit of his musical ambitions. It explores themes of passion, self-discovery, and the sacrifices one makes for their art.

'Rockstar' is renowned for its soulful music composed by A R Rahman, which includes chart-topping songs like 'Sadda Haq' and 'Nadaan Parindey. 'The film received critical acclaim for its performances, direction, and music, earning several awards and nominations.

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