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In the 1980s England of

Warner Bros.

In the 1980s England of "Blinded by the Light," Javed (Viveik Kalra), 16, wants to leave his hometown. He finds an escape in the music and lyrics of Bruce Springsteen.

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Halfway through the premiere of Gurinder Chadha’s new movie at the Sundance Film Festival in January, the texts started rolling in. Studios were definitely interested in the film, so much so that the bidding war was off and running. First came Amazon Studios with $7 million. Then others — $10 million, $12 million.

Chadha’s film, the Bruce Springsteen-inspired “Blinded by the Light," received a lengthy standing ovation at the festival. Ultimately, Warner Bros.' New Line Cinema picked up the movie for a reported $15 million.

“We don’t need this movie," the studio head told Chadha. "We want this movie.”

In the film, which is set in 1987, Javed (Viveik Kalra), a 16-year-old aspiring writer from a Pakistani Muslim family in Luton, England, is introduced to the world of Springsteen and never looks back. He starts talking in Springsteen quotes, plastering his walls with Bruce posters, cutting off the sleeves of his shirt and wearing jean jackets like his New Jersey-born idol.

“It’s like Bruce knows everything I’ve ever felt, everything I’ve ever wanted," he says.

Director Gurinder Chadha, pictured here at the Montclair Film Festival on May 12, co-wrote the script for

Neil Grabowsky

Director Gurinder Chadha, pictured here at the Montclair Film Festival on May 12, co-wrote the script for "Blinded by the Light" with Sarfraz Manzoor. The film is based on Manzoor's 2007 memoir "Greetings from Bury Park."

Blinded by the Light,” which takes its name from the first song on Springsteen’s 1973 debut, “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.,” is due out in theaters on Aug. 14. Chadha told the story of the movie’s promising journey at a screening Sunday at the Montclair Film Festival.

Springsteen fans grew emotional over the course of the film and gave Chadha a standing ovation when she stepped onstage at Montclair Kimberley Academy Upper School for a post-screening Q&A.

The film deploys a collection of Springsteen songs, with all of the music Javed listens to coming from 1987 or earlier. In a few scenes that seem like part of a fan-made musical, song lyrics float around Javed’s head or appear on the wall next to him as he listens to his Springsteen cassette tapes, perpetually wearing headphones so he can bask in the words.

“I had to make it feel like all those songs were written for me and written for the movie,” Chadha said. “'Dancing in the Dark’ was definitely the epiphany moment." The 1984 track is the first Springsteen song Javed hears, depressed and frustrated by everything blocking his way to becoming a writer. “I ain’t nothing but tired / Man I’m just tired and bored with myself,” Springsteen sings, making the teen light all the way up. When Bruce sings about getting nowhere “just living in a dump like this," Javed looks around and sees his own life.

Even a visit to a daytime rave with his sister Shazia (Nikita Mehta) is suddenly set to the 1978 song “Because the Night” when Javed pulls on his headphones. (The dances, called “daytimers,” allowed South Asian teens to let loose and party but also be home by a reasonable hour.)

Chadha, 59, gained international acclaim for the crowd-pleasing 2002 film “Bend it Like Beckham," which was nominated for a Golden Globe.

Like “Bend it Like Beckham,” which centers on Jesminder, a character who wants to play football (soccer) despite her traditional parents’ wishes, “Blinded by the Light” is a coming-of-age story about a teen from a South Asian family living in England. The film is based on “Greetings from Bury Park,” a 2007 memoir written by Chadha’s longtime friend, Sarfraz Manzoor.

In the film, Javed applies Springsteen's songs to his own circumstances. The words speak to him and play on the screen like a lyric video.

Warner Bros.

In the film, Javed applies Springsteen's songs to his own circumstances. The words speak to him and play on the screen like a lyric video.

Manzoor, 47, a Pakistani British journalist, discovered Bruce Springsteen’s music when, like Javed, he was a teen living in Luton. Since then, he’s been a lifelong fan, attending more than 150 Springsteen concerts, so many that the Boss himself has become familiar with the superfan.

“He looks very different to your regular Bruce fan," said Chadha, who is herself a big Springsteen fan. "He’s a Pakistani with an Afro. Bruce had come to recognize this kid. Once when he was in Pittsburgh doing a concert and Sarfraz was at the front, Bruce actually said, ‘man, what are you doing in Pittsburgh?’”

By honing in on the specifics of Manzoor’s life, the film becomes widely relatable. Ever since he was a young child growing up in the Bury Park section of Luton, Javed has gazed down upon the M1 motorway at cars heading 35 miles north to London, dreaming of making it out of his town. For those watching the film in Springsteen’s New Jersey, it may as well be the Garden State Parkway or the Turnpike. (In fact, Manzoor made a documentary for BBC Radio 4 called “From Luton Streets to Jersey Shores,” which drew links between Luton and New Jersey.)

Nell Williams (Eliza), Viveik Kalra (Javed) and Aaron Phagura (Roops) in a scene from

Nick Wall | Warner Bros.

Nell Williams (Eliza), Viveik Kalra (Javed) and Aaron Phagura (Roops) in a scene from "Blinded by the Light," due out in theaters August 14.

Javed’s friend Roops (Aaron Phagura) introduces him to Springsteen as “The Boss of us all.” Still, it’s the 1980s, and they’re surrounded by “Wham! boys and Bananarama girls." Both that crowd and Javed’s other friend, Matt (Dean-Charles Chapman, who played Tommen in “Game of Thrones”), consider Springsteen to be passé, an artist best left to the generation that came before.

But Javed faces his greatest resistance from his father Malik (Kulvinder Ghir), who doesn’t understand why his son listens to Springsteen so much. Their generational conflict underscores a larger issue: Javed wants to be a writer and his father only wants him to study economics so he can secure a steady job after university. Struggling to find work after losing his factory job in Margaret Thatcher’s Britain, he tells Javed that writing is for English people with rich parents.

Trouble looms outside the home, too, as Javed and his family suffer the consequences of white supremacist rhetoric from the National Front party, ranging from menacing local kids and racist graffiti to riots that bring harrowing violence.

Meera Ganatra (Javed's mother Noor), director Gurinder Chadha, center, and Kulvinder Ghir (Javed's father Malik) on the set of

Nick Wall | Warner Bros.

Meera Ganatra (Javed's mother Noor), director Gurinder Chadha, center, and Kulvinder Ghir (Javed's father Malik) on the set of "Blinded by the Light."

Writing and Springsteen’s music are the only things that allow Javed to break free from the narrow confines of his suffocating town and his father’s expectations (along with his love interest, Eliza, played by another “Game of Thrones” actor, Nell Williams). But after winning an essay contest, thanks to a submission from his teacher, Ms. Clay (“Avengers: Endgame” actress Hayley Atwell), Javed gets a rare chance at a major escape.

The prize: a trip to a conference at Monmouth College (now Monmouth University). Watching the scene in the film, the Montclair audience erupted with glee at the Jersey connection. Javed is ecstatic to travel to Springsteen’s haunts in Asbury Park, including the Stone Pony, along with his childhood home in Freehold.

When Javed crosses the pond, poised to head for Asbury Park, he presents his passport to a skeptical airport worker.

Sarfraz Manzoor at the

Neilson Barnard | Getty Images

Sarfraz Manzoor at the "Blinded By The Light" world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January. He's seen Springsteen in concert more than 150 times.

“I’m going to see Bruce Springsteen’s hometown,” he tells the man.

“I can’t think of a better reason to visit the United States than to see the home of the Boss,” the airport employee tells him, breaking into a smile.

“That actually happened to Sarfraz,” Chadha said of the exchange, which played very well at Sundance and in Montclair. The film, she said, “gives a kind of nostalgic but hopeful view of what America stands for and stood for for a 16-year-old Pakistani boy in 1987."

Chadha, who was born to Punjabi Sikh parents in Nairobi and grew up in West London, had her first encounter with Springsteen’s music when she was working in the record department at Harrods. An album cover for “Born to Run” featuring Springsteen and E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons got her attention.

“It was a white dude with a black dude sort of smiling and being really happy together and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s interesting, I’ve not seen that before,'" she said — at least not since KC and the Sunshine Band. Her first Springsteen concert was at London’s Wembley Stadium in 1985.

Javed's love for Springsteen starts with these cassette tapes.

Warner Bros.

Javed's love for Springsteen starts with these cassette tapes.

When Manzoor told Chadha that he was writing his book, she knew they could turn it into a movie. But they had to get the Boss’ blessing, especially if they wanted to use his music.

In 2010, Chadha was invited to the London premiere of the Springsteen and E Street Band documentary “The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town.” She took Manzoor as her guest. As Springsteen, now 69, headed down the red carpet, he spotted Manzoor, who had interviewed him a few times.

“He said, ‘man, I read your book. It’s really beautiful,’" Chadha said. “And then Sarfraz started hyperventilating.”

She approached Springsteen with the film idea. “Sounds good,” he said. “Talk to Jon" (Landau, his manager). Manzoor and Chadha collaborated on a script that would honor the songs and the songwriter while telling Javed’s story. Eventually, word arrived from the Springsteen camp: The Boss said he was all good.

Springsteen saw a cut of the film in August. Chadha was in the room, anxiously awaiting his verdict. He walked over and embraced the director.

“He said, ‘Thank you for looking after me so beautifully,’" Chadha said.

Now, the director speaks about the potential for the film to mint new Bruce fans with the enthusiasm of Javed himself.

“It’s going to be a movie that is going to introduce him and his music to a whole new generation and a whole new global audience who might think he’s old-fashioned," she said.

https://www.nj.com/entertainme...was-born-to-run.html

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The SPL Rocks!

Prego che tu stia danzando con San Pietro alle porte perlacee del cielo





Pulled up to my house today
Came and took my little girl away!
Giants Stadium 8/28/03



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