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‘Defiance’ Director Talks Generational Differences, Today’s Politicians & How “Brave People Had To Literally Fight Fascists In The Street”


Riz Ahmed's 'Defiance' director on British Asians, Rishi Sunak, the National Front and fighting fascists.

Defiance, which launched earlier this week to positive reviews, shines a stark light on the violent struggles of the British Asian community in the late ‘70s and ‘80s, and is told over three hours of interviews and archival footage. In response to the killing of a young man in an area South Asians considered a safe space, John Kingsley Read, the chairman of the vehemently anti-immigration National Front party, chose to say, “One down, one million to go.” This provides the backdrop. It may seem like a grey haired Balraj Purewal had little in common with the thick sideburns of his younger self who founded the Southall Youth Movement in London, but as the documentary goes on, it is clear he still feels the righteous indignation that put him at the forefront of the resistance.

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