One Big Live Performance

Leaving Home: A Documentary on Indian Ocean

Writer/Director- Jaideep Varma
Genre: Documentary
Duration: 1 hr. 55 mins.

“Close your eyes, let your feet tap and your hands clap as you savor some of Indian Oceans’ most entertaining and yet comforting numbers.”
This in all its essence is Leaving Home, where it is not a particular scene that touches the heart but a particular cord struck by the band members that leaves you awestruck!
I have seen documentaries on bands, quite a few of them, so when I went into the hall to watch Jaideep Varma’s “Leaving Home” I thought I knew what to expect. But the 1st thought that entered my mind as I left the hall was, “Wow, this was something refreshingly different. It was like getting to see one big live performance from India’s 1st rock band that now I have come to love!”
The music in the film, from the 5 albums that they have released has such a different feel to it. Be it Maa Rewa for the Narmada Bachao Andolan, Desert Rain, Kandisa or even Jhini, their music is both soothing to the ears as well as passionate and energetic.
The film introduces us to each of the band members- Susmit Sen, (late) Asheem Chakravarty, Rahul Ram and Amit Kilam and each of them moves the audience through the initial baby stages of the band- the obstacles, the sacrifices, the constant change in members, their music, their determination and finally their success!
They go on to tell us the changes that they have had to make in their lives because of the formation of Indian Ocean, but they have no regrets and are glad that the band was able to achieve the success that it has.
What I liked about this film is the way they present it- the film is shown in portions, according to the albums that they have released plus the movie that they have performed in as well as taking extensive interviews of the band members themselves along with snippets of famous personalities from the music industry speaking about Indian Ocean.
The movie captures the whole journey of an artist- from the struggle at the grassroots’ level to the pinnacle of success. We even get to see the different characteristics of each of the members’ in the group- the calm demeanor of Susmit, the craziness of Amit, the passion of Asheem and the jolly nature of Raghu Ram. The best part of the film is when Amit confesses that Indian Ocean does not have a wolf leading the pack; they are all leaders in their own right and end up giving their best when playing as a group.
The four of them seemed so well synchronized as a group, it almost feels as if they were born to become a band. They obviously suffered a big loss with the passing away of Asheem Chakravarty but instead of being bogged down, the passion he had instilled in the group seems to have become much stronger than before. And that is what one needs to keep the music flowing.
This is one documentary that I would advise you not to miss!