Blinded by the Light

Blinded by the Light (also known as Music of My Life) is a 2019 comedy-drama film directed by Gurinder Chadha. It was inspired by the life of journalist Sarfraz Manzoor and his love of the works of Bruce Springsteen. Manzoor co-wrote the script with Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges. It is based on Manzoor's 2007 memoir Greetings from Bury Park: Race, Religion and Rock N' Roll. Set in the town of Luton in 1987 Britain, the film tells the coming-of-age story of Javed, a British-Pakistani Muslim teenager whose life is changed after he discovers the music of Springsteen. Viveik Kalra stars in the lead role, along with Hayley Atwell, Rob Brydon, Kulvinder Ghir and Nell Williams in supporting roles. The film premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was released by Entertainment One in the United Kingdom on 9 August 2019, and New Line Cinema in the United States and other countries on 16 August 2019 via parent company Warner Bros. Pictures. Blinded by the Light received positive reviews from critics, and also received nominations for Best Film and Best Actor (for Kalra) at the 2019 SIFF Awards. Plot In 1987, Javed Khan and his family – Pakistani migrant parents Malik and Noor and sisters Yasmeen and Shazia – live in Luton, England, during the premiership of Margaret Thatcher. Javed likes contemporary rock music, which Malik disapproves of. Javed writes poetry and lyrics for his best friend Matt's band, but Matt criticises Javed's work for being depressing. Javed feels out of place at his new sixth-form college, where he is one of two South Asian students; the other, Roops, is a fan of "The Boss". In Ms Clay's writing class, Javed develops a crush on a student activist named Eliza and becomes interested in writing as a career. Javed talks to Ms Clay after class about his poetry and diaries. During lunch, Roops approaches him and gives him two Bruce Springsteen s, calling Springsteen "the direct line to all that is true in this shitty world." Javed faces constant racism from his peers and neighbours, and Malik forbids him to socialise, insisting he "follow the Jews" in his college because of their success as a people.