City director sheds light on underground music scene in Indian subcontinent

Underground music, which is the kind that goes beyond the commercial or pop music that one commonly hears, has often been made as a critique of the social, political and cultural setups of countries. Starting from the 60s, underground music has been growing popular the world over through genres like black metal, doom metal, punk rock and techno, among others. Even though bands in our country have been voicing strong opinions through their underground music, many remain as hidden talents. Most of the underground music concerts are held in the boondocks of the city, defunct warehouses and occasionally clubs. At times, these concerts are also held at hidden venues and are known only to a small group of people. Having worked with record labels and curated music festivals in the past, city-based filmmaker Roy Dipankar decided to tell the stories of subterranean music bands with strong voices across the Indian subcontinent.

“In February 2014, I began filming for Extreme Nation and realised that the project was so much bigger than what I had envisaged. I used to attend many underground music concerts in Mumbai and Bengaluru, and could have access to many bands. I think every artiste has a political stance. Through the documentary, I wanted to highlight the hidden talents and strong human voices that the underground music culture has,” 39-year-old Roy tells DT Next.

After five years of travelling and holding close to 50 interviews with bands and artistes from across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the film was completed in April. “I travelled across the country to cities and towns like Coimbatore, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Kohima, Guwahati to capture the underground scene and interact with bands. Since I didn’t get a visa, I couldn’t travel to Pakistan, but held interviews with a few of their artistes. I was in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, where I found a distinct difference between the mainstream and underground music scene. Underground music there was very intense, sung in local languages like Bangla and Sinhalese, and only a few people were aware of where these concerts were being held,” the filmmaker recalls.

The 81-minute long documentary delves into lesser-known aspects of music, history, geopolitics and humanitarian issues. “The film is not just for heavy metal fans. It is about the nations and the socio-political ties that India has had with its neighbouring countries and is a story people from the region. It is a critique of our times, with a loud message against hatred, religious dogma or border conflict,” he elaborates.

The film, which was completed through funds raised via crowdfunding campaigns and international grants, won an ‘Honourable Jury Mention’ at the Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival earlier this year. The film will also be screened next month at Wacken Open Air, a heavy metal music fest in Germany, and also at Jecheon International Music and Film Festival in South Korea. “I wish to screen the film at film festivals in India as well before releasing it online,” adds Roy.