Press – ROYVILLE MEDIA

New Indian Express

The big shorts; OTT platforms and sharp narratives

See You on the Other Side (2021), a nine-minute film on Disney+ Hotstar, reveals the sharp vicissitudes of life under a crushing pandemic. Directed by Roy Dipankar, the film shows how a global disaster tests friendships and stretches emotional bonds. It is representative of the spilling short format films on OTT platforms that thrive on sharp narratives.…more

Sonic Street Technologies

Birth of a New Sonic Body in Hyderabad, India

…guested article as a Research Associate with Sonic Street Technologies (SST), featuring Dakta Dub and Monkey Soundsystem. SST is a European Research Council (ERC) funded research project (2021– ’25) that aims to map the distribution and history of these music technologies worldwide; to investigate the social, economic and cultural conditions from which they are born; and to achieve a deeper understanding of the nature of technology itself and its uses for social and economic progress. The project builds on the work of the Sound System Outernational core research group at Goldsmiths, University of London. …more

Auxsons

Reggae Indien, porte-voix des hauts parleur
By Samuel Degasne - January 10, 2022

The second most populous country in the world, with its many religious, linguistic and cultural subtleties, India is however most often summed up in its most folkloric… or cinematic musical expression! According to director Roy Dipankar (who is currently making a film on this “Sanskriti sound system“), its establishment is due to the success of the artist Apache Indian.…more

Rolling Stone France

En File Indienne

Ou comment, loin de nos démonstrations capillaires ou pyrotechniques, le metal indien est devenu un outil de contestation politique …more

The Hindu

When 10 filmmakers came together to shoot ‘The Lockdown Shorts’ virtually

New anthology project brings filmmakers from across the country together to tell stories, while adhering to physical distancing. Sounds of Silence (directed by Himanshi Handa), Coma (Yash Bandi), Firaaq (Amberee Pitamber), Greeny-Tales (Aakar Kaushik), See You On The Other Side (Roy Dipankar), Bichaari Chidiyaan (Ida Ali), Doori (Terence Hari Fernandes), Desafio – A Challenge (Sayak Bhattacharya) and Full Stop (Cynthia Roli Gupta) are the other films in Vol. 1 of The Lockdown Shorts …more

Rolling Stone India

India-born, Doha-based DJ-producer talks to us about her debut EP, made entirely during the lockdown

Featuring clever editing that include cats and a beach visit, Doha-based, India-bred DJ-producer GoodMostlyBad aka Gurmehar Bedi’s new video for the vulnerable yet empowering song “Baby” was captured over “a million Zoom calls” with Chennai-based filmmaker Roy Dipankar …more

Wild City

Premiere: First Look At Dakta Dub & Roy Dipankar’s Docu-Fiction Film ‘Sound System Sanskriti’

Hyderabad-based Bala Subramanyam Swayampakula aka Dakta Dub has been leading his own revolution over the past years, attempting to transform the musical landscape of his city with radio shows and his ‘Bass Sanskriti’ events …more

I-D Mag, VICE

India’s young metal scene is furiously raging against a corrupt government

“In India people know this subculture as a certain class. You belong to the underbelly of society, the freaks,” Abhay Singh, a lifelong metal fan and exec producer of the captivating and award-winning new documentary Extreme Nation, tells i-D. The film explores the metal and extreme music scenes of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh; examining what it means to be part of such a unique underground subculture in the volatile Indian subcontinent. “I’m glad that people in Europe and other parts of the world are digging this shit,” he says. “They can relate to people that are distant from themselves geographically, but share the same sentiment.” …more

Metal Hammer UK

How the film Extreme Nation is promoting unity in South East Asia

A new documentary exploring metal in the Indian subcontinent is shinning a light on one of the world’s biggest underground scenes …more

The Hindu, Metroplus

Roy Dipankar’s documentary 'Extreme Nation' looks at underground metal in the Indian subcontinent

Chennai filmmaker’s latest work explores the metal community in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka: the voices, the language and the defiance …more

Indulge, The New Indian Express

Dark Side of the Metal

Roy Dipankar’s critically acclaimed film Extreme Nation isn’t just about heavy metal music. As a note from Roy puts it, ‘It’s a film about nations. It’s a film about dark music.’ You’d do well to strap in, and expect repeat mentions of terms related to extreme music — such as, ‘power electronics’, ‘the occult’ and ‘new wave nationalism’, not to forget political ideology, abrasive and shock-inflicting music, imagery and art. Here’s the complete interview …more

DT Next

City director sheds light on underground music scene in Indian subcontinent

Through extensive travels across countries over five years, city-based Roy Dipankar has documented the underground music scene in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in his film, ‘Extreme Nation’ …more

Times of India

Unearthing voices from underground

“The film is not just for heavy metal fans. It is about nations and the socio-political ties that India has with its neighbouring countries and is a story of the people from the region” …more

Audio Pervert Blog

Extreme Nation!

“Growing up in the early 90s, the only two unique distinctions in sound for me was A.R Rahman’s music and heavy metal… Don’t get me wrong, I mean, I grew up in heartland of Bombay, exposed to Bollywood, devotional cacophony of loudspeakers blaring during festivals, cassettes and LPs of international artists like ABBA, Boney M, Kraftwerk, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Rabindra Sangeet” recalls Roy …more

Rolling Stone India

Exclusive Premiere: Chennai Hip-Hop Artist Demon They Call Troy Rages on Eponymous Track

Sonically, “Demon They Call Troy” is an all-out trap track that moves in and out of murky territory, set to monochrome visuals from Chennai-based filmmaker and gig promoter Roy Dipankar. The color comes in at around the 2:40 mark, as Jerome announces himself with a growl …more

The Hindu

Float into the next year

Roy Dipankar, who has worked in the music industry for more than a decade, says, “Programming involved creating a mood graph mapped across 12-plus hours of music each day from artist to artist. It will be interesting to observe how the crowd reacts to interactive sets and genre bending performances woven into the lineup.” …more

Scroll

Satan worshippers? A new documentary looks at the Indian subcontinent’s extreme metal scene.

A common passion binds a group of young men separated by borders but united by a shared geographical history – the world of extreme underground metal. Roy Dipankar’s still-in-progress documentary film Extreme Nation looks at a subset of headbangers from across the subcontinent: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal …more

Hindustan Times

Extreme Nation explores the musicians’ lives as rockers, and their relationship with a shared violent past, a tense present and evolving power conflicts in a volatile region.

“In a world where the pious reign… and given what they do, I would rather be a blasphemer,” says Anton Dhar, metal musician from Bangladesh. In Pakistan, inspired by leftist poet Habib Jalib, Hassan Amin sings, ‘Pakistan ka matllab kya, main nahin janta main nahin manta (What is the meaning of Pakistan; I don’t know, I don’t believe’)’ …more

The Hindu

Origins of the Underground

Extreme Nation, Roy Dipankar’s second documentary film, tracks the growth and history of underground and metal music. Chennai-based filmmaker Roy Dipankar says things have changed a lot for a metalhead compared to the last few decades. “Around 15-20 years back, wearing torn jeans, T-shirts with intricate artwork and sporting long hair was looked down by society as outcast behaviour. Now, parents are buying metal gear and equipment for kids involved in metal bands. We definitely have come a long way.” …more

RadioAndMusic.com

Unearthing the Indian underground music scene

From playing covers at small DIY gigs to hordes of bands releasing countless albums, the Indian metal scene has evolved over the years into a well-oiled machine churning out massive concerts and tonnes of original music. This surging underground monster has reached far and wide, spreading across all the corners of the country. With an intention of showcasing this sub-culture and youth point of view on various subjects, Chennai-based filmmaker Roy Dipankar embarked on a journey to track the growth of the metal scene in India …more

Jammura

Into The Mind Of A Documentary Filmmaker

A musical exploration of spiritual and cultural bond between India and Iran, for those who are following open lines of Sufism outside and beyond any per-conceived doctrine of law, institutions or religion, the intriguing synopsis of Nafir states. Nafir is the debut documentary of the Chennai-based documentary filmmaker Roy Dipankar, which premiered at the 21st Kolkata International Film Festival in the Short and Doc category in November 2015 and was screened at 17th Madurai International Film Festival and the 14th Indonesian Festival Film Dokumenter, Yogyakarta …more

Unite Asia, Hongkong

Trailer for Indian metal documentary up now! Can’t WAIT for the full doc!

Woah…2015 is nearly over but THIS is making me want 2016 to hurry the fuck up and get here already! A documentary about the Indian metal scene has just released a trailer that is worth you stopping whatever the fuck you’re doing right now to check out below. The trailer includes conversations about Pakistan and Bangladesh as well so it looks like it’s more a South Asian perspective on metal …more

Rolling Stone

Chennai Filmmaker’s Documentary on South East Asian Metal

Chennai-based filmmaker and music industry professional Roy Dipankar has been working on a documentary about the South East Asian underground metal scene for a few years now. Technical snags and funding issues weighing down, the filmmaker has turned to …more

Metal Base

Exclusive release: Extreme Nation Documentary trailer

Extreme Nation chronicles one of the darkest, most explicit and mysterious forms of a subculture spawned over years of metal music in the Indian subcontinent – confronting a high-power, historic & exciting ride from the past to the present – that have been hitherto little known or largely unexplored …more

Wishberry

Wishberry Success Stories

Last year, we saw some gritty, entertaining and eye-opening real-life stories come to the fore. These movies crowdfunded their budgets on Wishberry and collected over Rs. 50 Lakhs from 400+ people proving that crowdfunding and documentaries are a winning combination. Here’s a low-down on the most-liked, crowdfunded documentaries of 2017 …more

Demonstealer’s Indian Metal Podcast

Demonstealer’s Indian Metal Podcast – Episode 8:

The News Minute

The Goa Project kicks off: Redefining filmmaking and future of innovation in India

From the conflicts of middle class India and the criminal justice system in India to the application of block chain in art and future of 3D technology, the Goa Project kicked off at Panjim with interesting sessions and conversations across tracks …more