Bohemian Rhapsody: They will rock you again

Bhubaneswar: Since the early 80s, hit numbers of the popular British rock band ‘ Queen ‘ have had a great influence on music lovers across the globe. The band’s popular songs – We Are the Champion, We will Rick You, Killer Queen, A night at the opera, I want to break free, Radio Ga Ga, Somebody to Love and Crazy Little Things Called Love have mesmerised and swayed generations. Now, fans are excited over the release of the trailer of a biopic on the group’s front man and lead singer Freddie Mercury. Incidentally, Queen’s most popular song Bohemian Rhapsody is also the title of the biographical movie.

Orissa POST interacted with a few fans of Queen, who shared their views on the band and also why they like its songs.Odia filmmaker and comedian Roshan Bisoi said, “I am a big fan of Queen and Rami Malek, who portrays the character of the iconic Mercury is perfect. Malek has transitioned into the character really well. Mercury is a music legend and during our school days, we often banged our tables, humming to We Will Rock You, while Bohemian Rhapsodyis an all-time favourite. I think the movie deals with the personal life of Mercury, including his sexuality, relationships with his band members Brian May (lead guitar and vocal), Roger Taylor (drums and vocal) and John Deacon (bass guitar). Mercury’s death is really tragic, as he breathed his last in 1991 at the age of 45 years due to AIDS, which was confirmed just a day before his death”.

According to Sarthak Mohapatra, musician and member of the city-based band ‘Highway Jammers’, Queen’s music influenced me a lot, especially the song Bhomian Rhapsody. “In fact, I decided to become a musician and join a band only because of the influence of this number. It is not just a number, but a movie that dwelt solely on music – something that is rare these days. The last music-related movie I saw was Whiplash, which is based on the life of a drummer. The Queen band is as iconic as Beatles and Rolling Stone .
I am excited because Freddie Mercury’s life is not just about music, but many other captivating things other than music”. Abhishek Padhi of the local band The Fallen Moon said that Mercury and Queen motivated me to start singing and form a band. Mercury, Chester Bennington andEminem are the singers who inspire me most even to this day. Their music touches my souls.” “Songs like We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions have inspired many youngsters, including me,” he added. “Many are not aware that the initial years of Mercury’s childhood were spent in St Peter’s School in Panchagani, Maharashtra. After 1954, he shifted to England with his family. I hope that this aspect of his life is also touched in the movie,” Abhishek said.

Satyabrat Mohapatra, a comedian, said. “Queen’s stage performance at Wembley Stadium July 13, 1985 was the greatest live concert ever staged and a day that no one who was present there will ever forget. Apart from the audience at the transatlantic events (72,000 at Wembley Stadium in London; 99,000 at the John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia), it was estimated that another two billion people in 60 countries watched it on television. Queen’s mind-blowing 20-minute set of all popular songs stole the show. I hope that the movie will pay tributes to Mercury and the band in a fitting manner.”