"At the Crossroads... Nondon Bagchi: Life and living" a film by Sarmistha Maiti & Rajdeep Paul and produced by Urmi Basu, under the banner Studio Earthcrafts is an independent biographical documentary on Mr. Nondon Bagchi, an eminent Percussionist, exponent of Rock and Jazz Music, Teacher and Food Critic based in Kolkata. Born on the very same day that is now celebrated as the World's Music Day, 21st June in the year 1953, Nondon Bagchi still makes 60's Rock rock at 60 as he still plays which he significantly terms as the "Rock Music of the Woodstock Generation" with his band Hip Pocket and is also an inseparable member of the internationally acclaimed Carlton Kitto Jazz Ensemble.
However the "High" point in Nondon's career remains during the times he played with his two soulmates Dilip Balakrishnan and Lew Hilt... and the giant leap that everybody expected their band "High" to take in the musical horizon of India, was cut short by the untimely demise of Dilip Balakrishnan -- a crisis from which Lew and Nondon never really recovered, personally or professionally.
The film "At the Crossroads" takes a deeper look into the musical journey of Nondon Bagchi the man, and an entire generation of musicians doing English Music in India who actually came to the crossroads from where without any support from the Govcernment and society could not take a leap that they deserved to take in this country. And it was only with the emergence of Vernacular Rock that their names became known to the general public.
As the film delves into this history and its tragic trajectory, it also moves into the personal life of the protagonist, tarnished by separation and loss... into his angst and ego, pride and pain, his refusal to concede to the set norms of society and his unending commitment to his music, come what may. The film is a homage to Mr Bagchi on the occasion of his 60th birthday as also a critical study of the evolution of music in the City of Joy and the exploration of this man, who stands at the transformative crossroads of Hardcore Western Music into "Bangalir Praner Gaan" -- the Song of the Bengali Soul