Blinded by the Light (2019)

In England in 1987, a teenager from an Asian family learns to live his life, understand his family and find his own voice through the music of American rock star Bruce Springsteen.

Director:

Gurinder Chadha

Writers:

Sarfraz Manzoor (screenplay by), Gurinder Chadha (screenplay by)

Stars:

Billy Barratt, Ronak Singh Chadha Berges, Viveik Kalra

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Barratt	...	Matt (10)
Ronak Singh Chadha Berges	...	Javed (10) (as Ronak Chadha Berges)
Viveik Kalra	...	Javed
Lee Barnett	...	Foreman
Dean-Charles Chapman	...	Matt
Kit Reeve	...	Emma
David Hayman	...	Mr Evans
Kulvinder Ghir	...	Malik (Father)
Nikita Mehta	...	Shazia (Sister)
Rob Brydon	...	Matt's Dad
Meera Ganatra	...	Noor (Mother)
Lorraine Ashbourne	...	Kathy
Tara Divina	...	Yasmeen (Cousin)
Jeff Mirza	...	Mr Shah
Frankie Fox	...	Colin Hand

Storyline

In 1987 Britain, Javed Khan is a British-Pakistani college arts student in Luton in a family with a domineering father. Depressed by his oppressive family life and feeling he has no future in a hostile community, a newfound friend introduces Javed to the music of Bruce Springsteen. Touched by the rock star's powerfully eloquent affinity of his own feelings, Javed is inspired to reach out for his own dreams with his own talents. However, although Javed finds friends he never expected in this personal quest, he also finds himself butting heads with his newly unemployed father who stubbornly refuses to understand his son's new aspirations. In this conflict of values in a troubled time, Javed must decide what is truly important to him while his family struggles to understand what has changed and what remains with a new generation feeling born to run.

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Plot Keywords:

aspiring writer | british pakistani | bruce springsteen fan | title based on song | teenager | 

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Taglines:

For Anyone Who Has Ever Wanted to Dream. You're Not Alone.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic material and language including some ethnic slurs.

Did You Know?

Trivia

Movie title comes from Bruce Springsteen's song "Blinded by the Light", which was made famous by Manfred Mann's Earth Band.

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Goofs

Cars seen on the highway are new.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Young Javed: September, 1980. My best friend Matt and I have the same birthday. He got a brand new chopper bike. It's really fast and looks so cool. I got a Rubik's cube. But Matt gave me this diary that he didn't want. And I'm going to write in it every day.

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Connections

Featured in Good Morning Britain: Episode dated 30 July 2019 (2019)

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Soundtracks

Prove It All Night
Written by Bruce Springsteen
Performed by Bruce Springsteen
Published by Universal Music Works on behalf of Bruce Springsteen
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment

User Reviews

Race, Religion and Rock N' Roll ... in 1987

This story is inspired by writer Sarfraz Manzoor's autobiography.

Without really giving anything away, t's basically a story about the struggles of young college writer in a small English town. In the midst of his family's downward financial spiral ... and race relation issues of the time, he finds unexpected inspiration in the music and words of Bruce Springsteen.

It's mostly charming and has a good, heart-felt message. I like Springsteen's music but felt that the movie over-used it with all the Bolllywood-ish singing and dancing.

That said, it's amazing this movie even got made. Springsteen has never given permission for his music to be used in movies ... but he read Manzoor's book (before he was even approached) and give his approval.

There are some really enjoyable moments ... and there are times when the movie seemed to drag a bit. All in all - I liked it!

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site

Country:

UK USA France

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 August 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blinded by the Light

Filming Locations:

The Mall Luton, Mall Management, 37 The Mall, Bedfordshire, Luton LU1 2LJ, United Kingdom

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,333,305, 18 August 2019

Gross USA:

$11,901,145

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$18,096,691

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Levantine Films, Ingenious Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1