Chennai-based filmmaker Roy Dipankar says things have changed a lot for a metalhead compared to the last few decades. “Around 15-20 years back, wearing torn jeans, T-shirts with intricate artwork and sporting long hair was looked down by society as outcast behaviour. Now, parents are buying metal gear and equipment for kids involved in metal bands. We definitely have come a long way.”
Acceptance is not an easy thing to come by for metal music, even today. Underground and extreme metal, which is labelled so for its niche-within-niche following, has been growing with some acceptance in India and the rest of the subcontinent. Dipankar is looking to track its growth and history in his second documentary film, Extreme Nation .
Dipankar’s debut documentary, Nafir , explored the connection between India and Iran through Sufism and Persian poetry, and was screened at the 21st Kolkata International Film Festival and made its way to Indonesia this year. It was three years ago, however, that Dipankar had already begun filming for Extreme Nation , interviewing bands, capturing gigs across Bangalore, Kolkata and Lahore, among 13 cities in the four subcontinental countries — India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. “It was originally supposed to be documentary-fiction, Cinéma vérité style — real-life footage mixed with enacted characters.”
Attending everything from international underground festival series Trendslaughter in Bangalore, to chatting with Kolkata metal gig organisers, Dipankar says he’s understood the “power and awe” of extreme metal now. And unlike their public image, artists were forthcoming to give interviews on camera. Bands featured range from Shillong death metal band Plague Throat, Nagaland’s death metal band Syphilectomy and organisers such as Bangalore’s Sandesh Shenoy (of Trendslaughter) and Nitin Rajan (who started one of the first death metal showcase gigs in the country, Domination — The Deathfest, in the early 2000s). Extreme Nation still highlights some of the obstacles musicians in this space come up against; whether it’s cultural, political, religious or any other. Dipankar says, “I remember, in the early days, Rangbhavan in Mumbai, a haven for metal fans as a venue, was shut down by the then mayor, citing complaints of disturbance due to noise. Surprisingly, the venue was open to other forms of live events. Amongst mostly bands from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, visa restrictions to travel here and perform have been a major concern.”
But despite that, the filmmaker does say the grass is greener than ever before. “The energy is incredible and the intention is robust. There has never been an upsurge or rush of such magnitude ever before.”
Extreme Nation ’s wider appeal lies in telling the world outside about the music that’s being made and the people behind promoting it. “I believe in today’s times, the film will gather enough curiosity for a non-metalhead to go and watch it, as Extreme Nation talks not just about a certain music genre, but also about a youth subculture and so many facades and shades of the following, that most of India or the subcontinent might not be aware of.”
An entirely self-funded, do-it-yourself effort so far, Dipankar is currently hunting for co-production funds and grants. The aim is to release Extreme Nation sometime in 2016, on as large a scale as possible. Dipankar says with a laugh, “It will be a dream come true to have it playing in theatres here. Now you can see that my dreams are of the extreme kind.”
