Shiraz_(film)

<i>Shiraz</i> (film)

Shiraz (film)

1928 film

Shiraz (Shiraz: A Romance of India) (Das Grabmal einer großen Liebe in German) is a 1928 silent film, directed by Franz Osten and starring Himansu Rai and Enakshi Rama Rau. It was adapted from a stage play of the same name by Niranjan Pal, and based on the story of the commissioning of the Taj Mahal – the great monument of a Mughul prince for his dead queen. Due to the public's apathy towards silent films, a sound version was also produced in 1929. While the sound version has no audible dialog, it features a synchronized musical score with sound effects along with a theme song.[1]

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Full film

Plot

Shiraz (Rai) is a potter's son, who is brought up as brother to Selima (Rau), a girl of unknown but royal lineage who was rescued from an ambush in childhood. Shiraz falls in love with Selima as a young adult and when she is kidnapped by slavers and sold to Prince Khurram, Shiraz follows her to Agra, where he will risk a horrible death to protect her and one day design her great memorial.[2]

Cast

Music

The sound version of the film featured a theme song entitled “The Song of Shiraz (An Oriental Reverie)” by Eric Valentine (words) and Harry Collman (music).[3]

Production

The film was shot in Jaipur.[2] It was an Indian/British/German co-production, and the second of three silent films made on location in India by star and producer Himansu Rai. The others are Prem Sanyas (The Light of Asia, 1926) and A Throw of Dice (Prapanch Pash, 1929).[4]

Restoration

Shiraz was restored from original film elements by the BFI National Archive in 2017, and had its premiere as a gala screening at the 2017 London Film Festival, accompanied by a new score composed and performed by Anoushka Shankar. The Guardian's film critic Peter Bradshaw praised the film as " a startlingly ambitious epic weepie-romance".[5] The restored version subsequently played in a number of venues in India in late 2017.[6][7] The film was shown as part of the BFI London Film Festival's lineup at We Are One: A Global Film Festival in 2020.[8]

References

  1. [1]
    The British Film Catalogue, 1895-1970 (1973), London: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5572-4, LCCN 72007861, OCLC 447306
  2. [2]
    Hoberman, J. (16 January 2019). "'Shiraz,' a Silent Spectacle of India, Returns" – via NYTimes.com.
  3. [3]
    Wlaschin, K. (2009). The Silent Cinema in Song, 1896-1929: An Illustrated History and Catalog of Songs Inspired by the Movies and Stars, with a List of Recordings. United States: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers.
  4. [4]
    "Review: Landmark 1928 Indian silent film 'Shiraz: A Romance of India'". Los Angeles Times. 21 January 2019.
  5. [5]
    "Inside the British Film Institute archives — and an Indian gem sparkles again". The Financial Times. 5 October 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  6. [6]
    "Shiraz: A Romance of India review – 90-year-old epic stands test of time". The Financial Times. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  7. [7]
    "YouTube". YouTube. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  8. [8]
    Kay2020-05-27T12:20:00+01:00, Jeremy. "We Are One global film festival announces line-up". Screen.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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