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Blinded by the Light (2019 film)

film directed by Gurinder Chadha

Blinded by the Light is a 2019 British-American comedy-drama film that tells a story about a British-Pakistani Muslim teenager Javed Khan who discovers the music of Bruce Springsteen which changes his life forever.

Directed by Gurinder Chadha; Written by Paul Mayeda Berges, Gurinder Chadha and Sarfraz Manzoor, based on the 2007 memoir Greeting from Bury Park: Race, Religion and Rock & Roll by Sarfraz Manzoor.
For anyone who has ever wanted to dream, they're not alone

Javed Khan

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  • [narrating the first lines of the movie] 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. The Russians have been in Afghanistan for 363 days. "Baggy Trousers" by Madness is my favorite song.
  • [writing a poem dedicated to Eliza] In my dreams, I am holding you tight, You are all I ever wanted, Such a magical sight, I feel a buzz of electricity from my feet to fingertips, When I try to imagine, kissing your beautiful lips, A flash of lightning in a midnight storm, gust of wind that lifts me off my feet, a summer ray that radiates heat, every minute I'm with you feels divine and makes you wish you could be mine.
  • [about his poems] They're not brilliant, but they're mine.
  • Goodbye, cheese and pickle! My summer job is done! The cold war rages on. Reagan and Thatcher are still number one! But I'm stuck in Luton, one of the herd. No fun, freedom or future, 'cause Luton is a four-letter word.
  • My dad's not a typical dad. We don't have jokey chats. He's not like the dads you see on the telly. A lot of the time he seems pretty angry at the world. I think Bruce Springsteen would understand my dad, 'cause, like his father, they both came from poor backgrounds, both worked hard in factories, both had dreams that never came true, which left them angry. And they both had sons who wanted the chance to make them proud.
  • But the reason I connected with Springsteen is because what he sings about and champions are not only American values but are the best of human values. He talks about working hard and holding on to your dreams and not letting the hardness of the world stop you from letting the best of you slip away.

Malik Khan

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  • Listen to me, beta. I'm not your typical Pakistani father who says you must be a doctor. I'm saying... lawyer, accountant, estate agent. I'm giving you freedom, see?
  • You're very lucky. You'll always be Pakistani. You will never be British!

Others

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  • Roops: Congratulations! You've popped your Bruce cherry. You never forget your first time!
  • Noor Khan: If we don't try to fix this now we will lose our son for good. And if that happens, I will never forgive you.
  • Mr. Evans: 48 years ago I marched into war with my friends to fight men in swastikas. Today I see swastikas on young men on the streets of Luton. That was a very brave poem, young man. You must write more and get your message out. N.F. scum indeed!
  • Alan: No one listens to Springsteen anymore. He's history!

Dialogue

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Javed: Who's that?
Roops: The Boss.
Javed: Whose boss?
Roops: The boss of us all.
Eliza: Javed doesn't drink. He's a Muslim. It's against their religion, Dad.
Robert: [pausing] Well, have a little bit, see how you go. We won't tell anyone if you don't.
Eliza: I liked my poem this morning.
Javed: I couldn't sleep.
Eliza: Was it another gem from Bruce?
Javed: No, it's mine.
Eliza: You wrote that for me? [tenderly wraps her arms around Javed for a hug]
Javed: Dad, I want to be a writer.
Malik: Writing isn't a job.
Javed: It can be!
Malik: Name me one Pakistani writer. Just one!
Malik: Where did you get the money to buy these tickets?
Javed: I earned it, at the Herald.
Malik: You told me that they didn't pay you. Your mother has been working night and day for this wedding, and you had money to waste?! This has gone too far. Give me those tickets.
Javed: No! They're mine! It's my money! I can't wait to get away from here. I want to go to university.
Malik: You will go to university in Luton.
Javed: Luton doesn't even have a university! But Manchester University, they want me!
Malik: You will not go to Manchester, you will not go anywhere! Give me those tickets!
Javed: NO!! I bought them with money I earned as a writer. My words paid for these.
Malik: GIVE ME THOSE TICKETS!
Javed: NO!
Malik: HERE, GIVE ME THOSE TICKETS!
Shazia: No, Dad! Stop!
Noor: [trying to intervene] Please, stop!
Javed: Dad, get off me! [Malik forcibly snatches the tickets from Javed's hands and rips them up]
Noor: Please stop! What are you doing?
Malik: What did I say? Huh?! You are not British! So stop acting like a gora. You are Pakistani, you are my son!
Javed: [furiously shoves Malik away] I DON'T WANNA BE YOUR SON!!!!! [brief pause] I wanna be more than that! [storms out of the house]
Passport Official: [Processing Javed's entry into the United States] Purpose of your visit?
Javed: I'm going to see Bruce Springsteen's hometown.
Passport Official: I can't think of a better reason to visit the United States than to see the home of the Boss!

Cast

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