Blinded by the Light

by Julian Spivey

Director: Gurinder Chadha 
Starring: Viveik Kalra, Kulvinder Ghir & Nell Williams 
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hour & 58 minutes 

“For the ones who had a notion … that it ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive.”
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“It’s a town full of losers and I’m pulling out of here to win.”

“Tramps like us, baby, we were born to run.”

The theme of breaking free from your average, boring life and becoming something greater than what you are and what you’ve been is a major theme in Bruce Springsteen’s early discography. I think this is why his music speaks to so many from small town America and small towns throughout the world who want something more than their life has given them.

It’s what Sarfraz Manzoor wanted growing up in Luton, southeast of London in the United Kingdom in the 1980s after his family emigrated from Pakistan. Manzoor found inspiration and a kindred spirit in the music of Springsteen, which though it’s mostly about New Jersey white characters like him was able to translate to a Pakistani teen living in Britain. Manzoor published his memoir Greetings from Bury Park: Race, Religion and Rock N’ Roll in 2007 about the impact Springsteen’s music had on his life.

It’s Manzoor’s memoir that was the inspiration for Gurinder Chadha’s (“Bend it Like Beckham”) latest film “Blinded by the Light,” which was co-written by Manzoor, Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges.

“Blinded by the Light” tells the story of Javed, a stand-in for Manzoor, a British-Pakistani Muslim who lives under the rule of his strict father Malik, played by Kulvinder Ghir. The performance of newcomer Viveik Kalra as Javed is near perfection as a young man trying to become a man on his own terms with the dream of being a writer, despite the fact his father wants him to learn economics so he can one day do something better than working in factory or becoming a taxi driver.

It’s the music of Springsteen, recommended to him by college classmate Roops (played by Aaron Phagura), that helps him get the nerve to deal with his father, helps him fall in love with a girl and helps him grow into who he wants to be. It seems a little fairytale-ish, but Springsteen’s music really does have a power behind it. It’s why his fan-base, which includes me, treats the man almost as a deity.

Javed’s relationship with his father mirrors that of Springsteen and his father and that’s why featuring a song like “Independence Day” in such a prominent place in the film is important. We realize that Malik is simply doing what he believes is best for his son and his family and that there are truly no villains in this relationship, just two stubborn men trying to live out their dreams.

More than 10 Springsteen songs are featured in “Blinded by the Light” and the film does a terrific job of working them into the movie flawlessly. It was a great feature by Chanda to highlight some of the important lyrics to Javed by having them appear on the screen as he’s listening to the songs on his Walkman.

My two favorite scenes involving Springsteen’s music feature my personal favorite Springsteen songs. The first comes as Javed is getting up the nerve to approach the girl he likes, Eliza (played by Nell Williams, looking like a young Kristen Dunst), by performing “Thunder Road” for her in a busy market while being joined by his best friend’s dad, played by Rob Brydon in a comic relief role. The second scene is when Javed and Roops hijack the school’s radio station and play “Born to Run” before meeting with Eliza and running through the halls and nearby streets singing it at the top of their lungs. Chanda made the great decision to film these scenes, especially the “Born to Run” one, as if they were in a musical and it works wonders. I dare you not to smile during these moments, even if you’re not familiar with Springsteen’s work.

“Blinded by the Light” is a film that works on multiple levels – as a fish out of water story, as a father/son relationship story and as a tribute to a musical legend. I briefly wondered if it was a film that would be able to be enjoyed by non-Springsteen fans (though such a thing should not exist) and I settled on the fact that there’s enough going on here that even without any knowledge whatsoever of Springsteen it’s a story that can be felt and identified with anyway.