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Imtiaz Ali Says a Lost Rockstar Draft Altered the Ending, Cites Heer Ranjha’s Influence

He also traced Tamasha’s protagonist to a real school friend.

Overview

  • Speaking at a Mumbai fan meet hosted by Laksh Maheshwari, Imtiaz Ali said he misplaced an earlier full draft of Rockstar and had to rewrite the film years later.
  • He explained that the new draft evolved differently as he was influenced by the Punjabi folk tale Heer Ranjha.
  • Ali said he had originally envisioned a different fate for the film’s heroine without sharing specifics.
  • He revealed that Tamasha’s lead character and name were drawn from his school friend Ved Vardhan Tripathi.
  • Ali recounted that his friend abandoned the guitar for medical studies, later battled alcohol addiction, and died, elements that shaped his thinking about the character.