After giving super hits like Love Aaj Kal and Jab We Met, Imtiaz Ali is busy with the shooting of his next ambitious project Rockstar starring the nation’s heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor and New York based model Nargis Fakhri. Co-produced by Eros International and Shri Ashtavinayak Cine Vision, the film is scheduled for a June 2011 release.
Not many know that the film was launched in 2006 with John Abraham to be produced by UTV, and was meant to be Imtiaz’s second venture after his directorial debut Socha Na Tha. However, logistics failed to work and the project was immediately shelved. In the interim Jab We Met happened, and after multiple attempts, Imtiaz decided to revive Rockstar with Ashtavinayak. Before signing on Ranbir, Saif was in consideration for the movie owing to his known talent of playing the guitar and performing live with his band ‘Parikrama’. However, Imtiaz was confident about Ranbir’s learning skills & true to his director’s conviction, Ranbir did learn to play the guitar after a couple of lessons.
Similarly for the female lead, speculations earlier went awry with names the likes of Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma being recommended. However Imtiaz who introduced Giselli Monteiro in Love Aaj Kal was persistent about bringing in a fresh face for the film and finalized on Czech-Pakistani model Nargis. Also playing special appearances in the film are Shammi Kapoor and Piyush Mishra.
The film, as you must have guessed, traces the journey of a small town boy into becoming the lead singer of a rock band. While there are many shots of live concerts, head banging and strumming, Ranbir won’t be dancing in the movie. To shed away his chocolate boy looks and get the hippie rugged styling, Ranbir is seen porting mainly plaid shirts, torn baggy jeans, long hair, and bandanas, going for a not-seen-before avatar for the film.
Music for the film is composed by maestro A.R.Rahman. The shooting for the film began in early July this year in Indian metros, Mumbai, Delhi and has been shot in international locations Prague, Venice over the past few months.
With a winning combination of Imtiaz-Ranbir-Rahman, this is one rocking movie we are definitely excited about.
Have a look at some of the sneak peaks of Ranbir’s rocker look!
