Principal photography has started on filmmaker Gurinder Chadha's new comedy drama, Blinded By The Light. The film is a hybrid musical that is firmly rooted in the great British tradition of quirky comedies, but with a dash of youthful exuberance inspired by John Hughes’ films from the 1980s.
The film is based on British Journalist Sarfraz Manzoor’s celebrated rite of passage memoir Greetings from Bury Park and chronicles his experiences as a British Muslim boy growing up in 1980’s Luton and the impact Springsteen’s lyrics had upon him.
Chadha, who directed Bend It Like Beckham, and Manzoor met Springsteen at the London Premier of his film The Promise in 2010 and discovered he had not only read but admired the book. “I quickly pitched him the film we wanted to make from the book on the Red carpet and to our excitement Bruce nodded and said, “Sounds good - talk to Jon”. We then spent several years developing a script we knew had to impress Springsteen and managers Jon Landau and Barbara Carr or there would be no film without his music and blessings," says Chadha.
Sarfraz Manzoor says: “Growing up in eighties Luton as the working class son of Pakistani Muslim immigrants my world felt very small. In the music of Bruce Springsteen I found both hope and wisdom on how I could transcend my circumstances and make my dreams to be a writer come true. The fact that I was so affected by Springsteen’s songs shows just how powerfully music can transcend race, religion, nationality and class. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT is also a tribute to my late father whom I often fought in my teenage years not realising his generation also had dreams they were not able to follow.”
Blinded By The Light stars Kulvinder Ghir (STILL OPEN ALL HOURS), Golden Globe® nominee Hayley Atwell (THE AVENGERS franchise), BAFTA® nominee Rob Brydon (THE TRIP) Sally Phillips (BRIDGET JONES DIARY) and introduces Viveik Kalra (ITV’s NEXT OF KIN) and Nell Williams as romantic leads.
Producer Jane Barclay comments “We’ve had an overwhelming response to the power of this story whose emotional and social themes are so relevant in today’s world.”
The film is due for completion in early 2019.
