The denial of his family surname could be considered a form of whitewashing, part of his broader career strategy. Yet the film explicitly states that Freddie Mercury was not just a stage name.
“I think it helped him be this person that he wanted to be, and the Bulsara person was still there, but for the public he was going to be this different character.” “I think changing his name was part of him assuming this different skin,” May explained. “He said, ‘I am going to become Mercury, as the mother in this song is my mother,’” May said, according to Lesley-Ann Jones’ book “Mercury: An Intimate Biography of Freddie Mercury.” “And we were like, ‘Are you mad?’”Īccording to Mark Langthorne and Matt Richards’ book “Somebody to Love: The Life, Death and Legacy of Freddie Mercury,” christening himself Freddie Mercury was part of crafting an onstage persona. Queen bandmate Brian May has said that it’s tied to the lyrics of their song “My Fairy King,” which mentions a “Mother Mercury” in the final moments. The mythical Mercury the world came to know began to take shape in 1970. His boarding-school teachers and classmates gave him the nickname Freddie, which his parents then also adopted. He earned pocket money by working at Heathrow Airport, which is where Mercury’s story picks up in the new movie.įarrokh Bulsara became Freddie Mercury in stages. Because his parents wanted him to pursue a degree, he attended Isleworth College and Ealing Art College, and graduated in 1969 with a diploma in graphic art and design. Joseph’s Convent School back in Zanzibar.ĭuring the violent Zanzibar Revolution in 1964, he and his family used their British passports to flee to England. Though he was a noted athlete and a strong student, his grades slipped as his interest in music rose, and he opted instead to finish the last two years of his courses at the Roman Catholic St. Peter’s Church of England School, a prestigious all-boys boarding school in Panchgani, India. After attending primary school in the area, he was sent to St. Their son, Farrokh, was born in Zanzibar on Sept. He found employment as a cashier for the British High Court - a job that often took him back to India, where he met his wife, Jer (who’s portrayed by Meneka Das in the film). Like many other young men of the Gujarat region of western India, he and his seven brothers left for the British protectorate of Zanzibar in search of work.
#Good thoughts good words good deeds freddie movie
Freddie’s father, Bomi Bulsara (played in the movie by Ace Bhatti), was born in British-ruled India. Whether it’s Persian or Indian or British - everyone’s going to claim him,” Malek, who is a first-generation American of Egyptian descent, recently told GQ Middle East.īut what is stated clearly and concisely in the film is fact: Freddie Mercury and his family identified as Indian Parsi. “Freddie’s real name was Farrokh Bulsara.
Mercury’s ethnicity has been debated at length since his death at age 45 in 1991 of AIDS-related complications. I hope people do not feel that the film does a disservice to the community, and if it were me, I would’ve loved to have incorporated more.”Īnd what about Mercury’s ethnicity and faith? Where did this enigmatic artist come from? Who are the people who raised him? And did he change his name because he was ashamed of his roots, as the aforementioned scene suggests? While largely missing from “Bohemian Rhapsody,” those facets of his life are thoroughly captured in multiple biographies. “Freddie Mercury is a gay icon, and he’s an icon for all of us. And yet the biopic still leaves audiences wanting to know more intimate details about its subject, who was born Farrokh Bulsara. Mercury’s roots and religious background are two of the many (many) topics that the musical drama, which arrived in wide release on Friday, tackles at what Times film critic Justin Chang calls a “multitasking” speed. His announcement seems to puzzle and insult his father, who asks, “So now the family name is not good enough for you?” His parents’ brief and bullet-pointed corrections are nearly drowned out by Mercury, who suddenly begins serenading himself on piano and informs everyone of his new last name. And his bandmates are informed that their lead singer was not, in fact, born and raised right there in London. Rami Malek, who portrays the late Queen frontman, sits at his parents’ dining-room table as his then-serious girlfriend hears Freddie’s birth name for the first time. In an early scene of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” we see Freddie Mercury celebrating his birthday.
0 kommentar(er)
