Before “Blinded By The Light”: A Snapshot of South Asian Diasporic Cinema
“If we don’t tell our own stories, no one else will.” — Mira Nair
This weekend will see the wide US theatrical release of director Gurinder Chadha’s newest film, Blinded By The Light. The movie, which is based on Sarfaraz Manzoor’s memoir Greetings from Bury Park, tells the story of a young British Pakistani teenager whose love for the music of Bruce Springsteen inspires his own creativity, passions, and ambitions. Blinded By The Light comes on the heels of rave reviews from Sundance Film Festival and marks yet another critically acclaimed entry for its director, who is most well-known for her breakout hit, Bend It Like Beckham.
If you were to ask any layperson what their favorite film about South Asian diaspora is, it’s more than likely they would be completely unable to even come up with one on top of their heads. Even if they were able to come up with one, it’s even more likely that the answer would almost universally be Chadha’s soccer-themed film. And rightfully so — Chadha’s film is one of the most well-known and cherished films about South Asian diaspora and immigrant identity. The answer, of course, would most certainly be different if one were to ask the same question in many parts of South Asia itself; it’s suffice to say that Yash Raj Films’ epic romantic film Dilwale Dulhania Le…
