A Potpourri of Vestiges Feature
The
British Council and the British Film Institute (BFI) have announced
that, following the 61st BFI London Film Festival
world premiere of there stored Shiraz:
A Romance of India, screening at the Barbican on 14 October the film will tour four Indian cities as part of the
UK/India 2017 Year of Culture, a year-long celebration of the long-standing
relationship between India and the UK, which has seen a vast programme of
cultural exchange and activity take place in cities across both countries
throughout 2017 which has included an extensive 8 month programme of classic
and contemporary Indian Cinema at BFI Southbank.
A
world leader in film restoration, the BFI holds the original negative material
of Shiraz in the Archive. Franz
Osten’s sumptuous Indian silent classic has been meticulously remastered by the
conservation team at the BFI National Archive. Screening at the BFI LFF as the Archive
Gala, the film will then visit Hyderabad,
Kolkata, New Delhi and Mumbai in
India from 1 November to 5 November,
accompanied by live performance of a
specially commissioned score by Grammy-nominated leading contemporary Indian
composer and sitar player, Anoushka
Shankar and an orchestral ensemble.
Shiraz tells the love story of the 17th
century princess who inspired the construction of the Taj Mahal. For the modern
viewer the appeal of Shiraz is the
extreme rarity of a sophisticated silent feature film made outside the major
producing nations of the West, the gorgeous settings and costumes and the
glories of the spectacular fort at Agra and of course the iconic Taj Mahal, a
central character here in its own right. Two infamous kisses that take place in
the film will definitely surprise modern audiences and are really quite
extraordinary for Indian Cinema of the period. Shiraz was adapted from Niranjan Pal’s play, the first Indian
playwright to have his work performed in the West End.
Deeply
rooted in the Indian Classical music tradition, Anoushka Shankar studied
exclusively from the age of nine under her father and guru, the late Ravi
Shankar, and made her professional debut as a classical sitarist at the age of
thirteen. By the age of 20, she had made three classical recordings and
received her first Grammy® nomination, thereby becoming the first Indian female
and youngest-ever nominee in the World Music category.
Through
her bold and collaborative approach as a composer, Anoushka has encouraged
cross-cultural dialogue whilst demonstrating the versatility of the sitar
across musical genres. As a result, Anoushka has created a vital body of work
with a prominent roster of artists such as Sting, M.I.A, Herbie Hancock, Pepe
Habichuela, Karsh Kale, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and Joshua Bell.
Tickets for the live score screenings of Shiraz in India,can be bought by the
public online in India on BookMyShow and via a process of pre-registration,
expected to reach more than 4000 people. The
tour will be made possible with the kind support of Qadir Ali Baig Theatre
Foundation in Hyderabad as part of the Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Festival 2017 and
Sangit Kala Mandir in Kolkata.
Following
the Indian tour Shiraz will screen
around the UK in January 2018 and be released on Blu-ray by BFI.
On
bringing Shiraz back to audiences in
India, Robin Baker, BFI Head Curator
says, “These gala performances of Shiraz
are the culmination of the thousands of hours it has taken the BFI National
Archive to restore and transform a silent film classic, ensuring that it is
safely preserved for future generations. Very few Indian silent films survive,
which makes Shiraz all the more important and precious. It seems particularly
fitting that in this UK-India Year of Culture 2017 we celebrate with a film
that brought together talent from India and the UK 90 years ago - while the new
score brings the film right up to date thanks to the genius of Anoushka
Shankar”
Alan Gemmell OBE, Director, British Council
India said, “For over 100 years film has
connected the UK and India. With the British Film Institute and Anoushka Shankar
we are bringing one of the most famous on-screen kisses and iconic Indian films
back to life. Shiraz is a highlight of the British Council’s programme for
Prime Minister Modi’s UK-India Year of Culture. A programme that will celebrate
the UK and India’s relationship, connect with young people in both countries
and inspire them to build a relationship for the next 70 years”.
Briony Hanson, British Council
Director Film
adds, “For audiences anywhere, the chance
to see Shiraz in a form as close to how it was originally made is exciting; to
enjoy a new score by Anoushka Shankar who is doing so much to introduce a new
generation to sitar music, makes it doubly so; but to have the opportunity to
present both film and composer to new audiences across India for the first time
is unbeatable, and makes a perfect highlight for our UK/India 2017 Year of
Culture”.
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