Wrestling with his cultural identity, Javed finds clarity after his schoolmate Roops (Aaron Phagura) lends him a pair of Springsteen cassettes – The Boss, Roops says, is “a direct line to all that’s true in this shitty world”. Late one night Javed slides Born In The USA into his Walkman and is electrified by the lyrics to ‘Dancing In The Dark’. Immediately he’s hooked. Springsteen’s songs of working class strife and escaping his home town, all energetic guitars and epic saxophone solos, sound nothing like the era’s synth-heavy hits from Pet Shop Boys or A-ha, but they are exactly what Javed has been searching for. He finds parallels between Springsteen’s struggles and his own – finally there’s someone else who feels exactly like he does, even if he is a white rock star from New Jersey.
The Boss would approve.
