If you’re not a fan of Bollywood or have somehow missed out, you probably haven’t seen Imtiaz Ali’s “Rockstar.” It seems whenever there’s chatter about this movie on social media or when its soul-stirring songs echo in our ears, all eyes and thoughts flock to Ranbir Kapoor. We dissect his journey, marvel at how he morphed from the naive Janardhan into the iconic Jordan, and endlessly discuss his trials and tribulations.

Yet, in this shadow cast by Jordan’s larger-than-life character, Heer, the film's female protagonist, often goes unnoticed. Why is her identity just a mere extension of Jordan’s? Reduced to being his lover, her own story — her life and death — barely skim the surface of our conversations. Even her...