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Thursday, April 25, 2024
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BOLLYWOOD LEAVING HOME
EDITOR'S PICK
Ratings: ****
How does a band consisting of, as one member Amit says, "not the best of
either guitarist, vocal, drummer or tabla player", become India`s greatest
band surviving and thriving over two decades? Yes Rolling Stones have done it in
the west, but they have done it with sex, drugs, money and rock-n-roll. Nothing
remotely close for these middle-class family men with children.
The answer to this question can be found in the film "Leaving Home".
Indeed, the answer to how India, with a similar problem, survived its six
decades, might also lie in this documentary about the quintessential Indian band
Indian Ocean.
How a motley group of middle-class Indians, without formal training in music,
got together, jammed and created music that is different from anything anyone
has heard in the world before, and stood solid like a monolith despite the
disappointments when hundreds of other bands came together and crumbled all
around them - the documentary answers most of these and other questions, about
life, music, survival and India.
From the cacophony of jarring noises that is Delhi, Jaideep Varma`s film moves
to a dilapidated bungalow in Karol Bagh - home to once the soulful Urdu poet
Faiz Ahmed Faiz, perhaps his spirit still guides the band - and slowly into the
scintillating music of Indian Ocean. A brilliant opening sequence that signifies
that even in the cacophony of our country a rich musical tradition can, and
does, thrive. You just have to look for it.
But make no mistakes, this is not a documentary about some music band. It is
instead a monument to middle class struggles, aspirations, failures and
successes. Thus, while we have the surviving three member of the band (Asheem,
the soul and voice of Indian Ocean died in December 2009), there are at least 15
other members who have come and left the band, unable to marry their passion for
music and their middle-class aspiration for security and safety of a job.
By not restricting itself to only the current members, and instead taking into
account the stories of those that joined the band and left, frustrated with the
struggles of making soulful music in the country, the film becomes a tome of
talents that could have been, but were lost to the need for survival, not just
in music, but all the arts.
After all any art - music, movies, literature, painting, sculpture - needs
either patronage, good luck, talent or a lot of grit to survive. Thankfully,
Indian Ocean had a lot of the last two. And so does this film.
And it is indeed their grit and talent that Jaideep documents with painstaking
precision. Had it not been for the grit of Susmit, or the composing talent of
Asheem, or the mad cap genius of Rahul, who even spent 10 days in jail for
activism with tribals.
The editing of the film, a process of selecting two hours from 180 hours of
footage, is spot on, with quick inter-cuts maintaining the pace and rhythm
throughout. The picture, sourced from various places is grainy. But the sound is
crystal clear and it becomes a film to be watched on the big screen, just for
the acoustics. There is no external voiceover, just some lines that fill in the
blanks in the band`s history. And this writing is also minimalist, witty and
simple.
"Leaving Home" is just like the band whose story it tells, grounded
and yet free, unlike the many famous international bands that float free in
space without roots, use big words but mean nothing, touch nothing. This
inspiring, scintillating and in parts hilarious tale will touch and move many
hearts and minds.
Lovers of Indian Ocean`s music will experience intense exhilarations. Those that
have not heard their music will be touched by the magic of movie and music fused
together in perfect unison in this documentary as also by the hopes and despairs
of people who are just like the rest of us.
India`s greatest music band deserves this great film, and Indian audiences
deserve the greatness of seeing it in theatres.
