The Band Wagon

Revelations like these — the origins of songs like Ma Rewa and Jhini,the initial struggle of the band,the backgrounds of the members — pepper the narrative of Leaving Home: The Life and Music of Indian Ocean. We find out that in the early,practically penniless days,guitarist Susmit Sen was the binding force,with his single-minded determination to create a band for the kind of music he wanted to play. We hear tabla player Asheem Chakravarty talk about how bad he used to feel when none of his family members ever turned up for a performance,while all of Sen’s family made it a point to attend every show they could. We find out from drummer Amit Kilam that his mother wrote the Kashmiri lyrics for Kaun,a plea for peace.

Director Jaideep Varma,a musician himself and long-time friend of the band,had wanted to make Indian Ocean the subject of a documentary for a while. “We were very flattered by the suggestion,” says Ram,“He shot us exactly as we are — during rehearsals,concerts,arguments,with our families.” The result is an intimate,warts-and-all portrait of one of India’s most iconic bands. One scene has Chakravarthy reveal his fear of being booed off stage during their first performance,while another shows all the other members pulling a stubborn Sen’s leg when he says he won’t touch anything he respects. (he means music,but Chakravarty gravely asks him if he won’t touch his mother’s feet.) The film successfully captures the band’s energy on-stage and off it. We even get a closer look at the special facial language that the two percussionists developed to communicate with each other during concerts.

Editing the 180 hours of raw footage that Varma shot was a painful process. But even more arduous was the task of finding the film,shot in 2006,a theatrical release. Varma rues,“Since this project has no precedent in India,no one was interested. Sadly,our country lacks imagination in distribution and producing,as no one is able to think out of the box to reach a niche audience that still makes for substantial numbers.” The release became even more urgent after Chakravarty passed away last year after a prolonged illness (the film is now dedicated to the late tabla player).

For now,the movie will have a two weeks run at Big Cinemas in six cities —Mumbai,Delhi,Hyderabad,Pune,Ahmedabad and Jaipur. It’s a great way for Indian Ocean fans to relive their favourite concerts and to see the band at work (although we’re not sure if people unaware of the band’s existence will be willing to spend the kind of money a multiplex usually charges.) However,Varma hopes that with Leaving Home,more people will become aware of the band. He says,“Hopefully people will enjoy the very contemporary (and everyday) Indian story that has been told — I believe that is not such a common occurrence in any part of the mainstream anymore. And when enough people enjoy something,we all know what can happen.”