SHIRAZ: A ROMANCE OF INDIA

Showings

Castro Theatre Sun, May 5, 2019 2:15 PM
Film Info
Director:Franz Osten
Cast:Himansu Rai
Enakshi Rama Rau
Charu Roy
Seeta Devi
Year:1928
Country:India
Total Run Time:106 min.
Format:DCP

Description

Musical accompaniment by Utsav Lal

An epic retelling of the story behind India’s most famous landmark gets lavish treatment by Indian actor-producer Himansu Rai and German director Franz Osten. Commissioned in the 17th century by Shah Jahan after the untimely death of his favorite wife left him heartbroken, the Taj Mahal may well be the most romantically melancholy structure on earth. Shot entirely in and around Agra, Shiraz makes optimal use of the city’s fabled Mughal-era architecture to add authenticity and allure to the production that includes a literal cast of thousands. The second of a trilogy of Indian stories that Himansu Rai produced in India with Indian players, it is one of only a handful of silent narrative films out of the estimated 1,800 made in the country to have survived.

Restoration by the British Film Instute National Archive

  

Copresented by India Community Center and 3rd i Films

Additional Information


 Image Credit: Burkhard Meissner


Musical accompaniment by Utsav Lal
Steinway’s Young Artist of 2010, Utsav Lal made his debut at the age of eighteen with his rendition of Indian ragas on the piano, stunning the world with his innovative handling of Hindustani classical music on a Western instrument. Often referred to as the “Raga Pianist,” he has gained international recognition, performing everywhere from Ireland to Singapore, Germany to Kuwait, and beyond. This year he plies his unique fusion of Eastern and Western traditional, classical, and jazz musical forms for the spectacular Indian epic Shiraz.