on leaving home

if you want to make a film about anything other than bollywood, or play original music for a living, conventional wisdom exhorts you to try neither in india. unless, one may now happily retort, you are jaideep varma or part of a certain band based in new delhi.

leaving home: the life and music of indian ocean became india’s first non-fiction feature film to release nationally earlier this year. it was rather well received by the media. while one critic called it an ‘inspirational music documentary’, another referred to it as ‘nothing less than a miracle’. the movie-going public at large chose to ignore it, reserving enthusiasm that particular week for a film with an item number instead.

this release on dvd, then, comes as a second chance for many of us to get our priorities in order. it’s a chance to choose something infinitely more interesting than your average formula flick — a film populated with real-life characters (susmit sen, rahul ram, amit kilam and the late asheem chakravarty) and a story worth listening to.

much of varma’s film is given over to how the band indian ocean came to be, what drives its individual members, and why their music inspires much adulation on the live circuit. part documentary, part live concert, part impromptu jam session, it’s a rough-around-the-edges piece of work that, almost inexplicably, generates a certain affection for four musicians many of us may never meet.

and the dvd has extras — an hour of footage that takes us behind the scenes, introduces us to the filmmaker and his team, and tells us a little more about the wonderful mr chakravarty. the short montage on the latter becomes a poignant, funny epitaph. it shows him as he always was: a very special man, clearly devoted to the music he helped create.

selling as it is for the price of an average movie ticket, this is a steal. if you want to make a documentary, or play your own music in india, you can. watch leaving home, and believe.