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A virtuosic performer who combines Indian Classical Music, Jazz and Post-Modern exploration, raga-pianist Utsav Lal improvises an exciting new score to the silent film epic: SHIRAZ (1928), the captivating story behind the creation of the most romantically melancholy wonders on earth, the Taj Mahal.Based on the romance between 17th-century Mughal ruler Shah Jahan and his queen, this epic silent film is the captivating story behind the creation of one of the architectural wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal. Shot entirely on location in India, with an all-Indian cast, it features lavish costumes and gorgeous settings. Choosing to perform on an instrument that has traditionally been considered unsuitable for Hindustani classical music, Utsav’s innovative handling of a raga blends his diverse musical influences and has left listeners spellbound. Utsav has performed at leading classical concert venues worldwide, including The Kennedy Centre, Carnegie Hall, Southbank Centre and The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester.
Shiraz: A Romance of India (1929, 120 Mins), Doors 7:00pm, Show begins 7:30pm.
"Imperialism for the masses, the movie culture of the 1920s, purveyed romantic fantasies of an imaginary East. Theaters were designed to evoke the Alhambra. Rudolph Valentino rose to stardom as the Sheik; Douglas Fairbanks cavorted as the Thief of Bagdad. A Photoplay writer declared Scheherazade was the muse of cinema, and studio bosses were known as 'movie moguls'.
In contrast, the 1929 spectacle “Shiraz: A Romance of India” — now presented in a fine 4K digital restoration by the British Film Institute — came by its heritage honestly. Based on Indian source material — albeit directed by a German national, Franz Osten, heading a mainly European crew — “Shiraz” was filmed on location in and around Jaipur with an all-Indian cast, including its producer and guiding light, Himansu Rai, in the title role as the man who designed the Taj Mahal.
Less an exercise in outsider exoticism than a monument to national pride, “Shiraz” invents an imaginary back story for the 17th-century empress whose death inspired her husband to commission the world’s most celebrated mausoleum. The movie opens in grand fashion as brigands waylay a desert caravan carrying a toddler princess. Orphaned in the melee, the child is adopted by a village family that includes a ready-made older brother, Shiraz. Growing into a spirited young woman named Selima (Enakshi Rama Rau), she’s abducted by slave traders and purchased for the harem of a handsome crown prince (Charu Roy, an actor who went on to become a director). Complications ensue when the bereft Shiraz (Rai) sets off to rescue her".
“Shiraz” boasted about 50,000 extras, 300 camels and seven elephants — one drafted as an executioner, foot poised to crush a condemned man’s skull. Hollywood could only aspire to the opulence afforded by the movie’s palace gardens and expansive mosques, let alone by the finished Taj Mahal.
No less impressive than these lavish backdrops are the movie’s understated performances and its overall naturalism. Satyajit Ray, who brought neorealism to India in his 1955 “Pather Panchali,” praised Osten as a pioneer with a “decided penchant for realism.” -J.Hoberman, New York Times
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Epsilon Spires, 190 Main Street,Brattleboro, Vermont, United States
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