Blinded by the Light

Blinded by the Light (2019) is Gurinder Chadha's comedy-drama, ready to watch online on iFILM. It's late-1980s England, and sixteen-year-old Javed is suffocating in the gray town of Luton, where the jobs have dried up and his Pakistani father has already mapped out his life.

A classmate hands him two Bruce Springsteen tapes, and the lyrics hit like someone read his diary aloud. Javed starts writing, pushing back against his dad, chasing a girl, and daring to believe Thatcher's town won't decide his future. The cast includes Viveik Kalra, Hayley Atwell and Rob Brydon.

The script grew out of journalist Sarfraz Manzoor's own memoir, set to real Springsteen recordings rather than a generic score. No misery-of-immigration cliches here, just humor, awkward dancing to Born to Run, and a kid finding his voice. Stream Blinded by the Light (2019) online on iFILM.