Restoring an ode to love

Whether the Taj Mahal was once a Hindu palace full of treasures that the Mughals appropriated for themselves or whether the Emperor Shah Jahan ruthlessly mutilated the skilled fingers of the artisans who wrought the marble mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal it is only fitting that one of the most beautiful structures in the world should stir up a controversy or two Among the legends that this monument inspired there is one on celluloid as well made in 1928Seeta Davi as the conniving DaliaShiraz A Romance of India is a stormy love story but a far cry from the belligerent hullabaloo that the Taj is engulfed in today In November Indian audiences will be able to savour Shiraz on the big screen once more thanks to the restoration efforts of the British Film Institute BFI and the support of the British Council If a little bit of fact and a little bit of fable make for a better story than the stark truth then such is the case with Shiraz Robin Baker head curator of the BFI National Archive says It is not propounded as history While there is the real story of Mumtaz the character of Shiraz is invented The film uses to its advantage the question of who designed the Taj As the designs of monuments like this one were usually ascribed to the patron rather than the architects the film adapted by William A Burton and Niranjan Pal from a play by the latter is able to resolve the question on a more sentimental noteHimanshu Rai as the lovelorn Shiraz PicsBFIA cosmopolitan filmIn the film Selima Enakshi Rama Rao and Shiraz Himanshu Rai are childhood sweethearts Selima gets kidnapped and sold as a slave to the Mughal prince Khurram Charu Roy She wins the love and admiration of Khurram who will earn the title of Shah Jahan but an evil Dalia Seeta Devi is intent on separating them Dalia plots a secret meeting between the lovelorn Shiraz and Selima which invokes the wrath of Khurram Daliarsquos plans are eventually foiled Selima marries Khurram while Shiraz pines away for her Selima is rechristened Mumtaz Mahal and on her death Shah Jahan builds her the Taj based on a design by the aged and blind ShirazSelima Enakshi Rama Rao later Mumtaz Mahal and Khurram Charu Roy later Shah Jahan in ShirazOne of the few surviving silent era films from India Shiraz was a production of British Instructional Films BIF along with Himanshu Rai Rai is widely renowned as one of the pioneers of Indian cinema the man who went on to establish the reputed Bombay Talkies in 1934 Pal and Rai worked on films together such as Goddess and The Light of Asia It was their ambition to tell Indian stories and stories with Indian elements such as myth and culture worldwide Shiraz had the coming together of talent that was cosmopolitan mdash an Indian cast a German director Frank Osten and British cameramen This was the beginning of what was going to turn into Bombay Talkies and the birth of modern Indian cinema says BakerShiraz was shot in locations in Agra including the Taj MahalNegative appealThe BFI has one of the most substantial collections of nonfiction silent films from India 250 of which have been made available for public viewing online as part of their India on Film 18991947 collection The institute also has the original negative of Shiraz mdash the very piece of the film that was used in Agra as Baker puts it mdash and also an original copy of the negative made in the 1950s For the restoration process which took them a yearandahalf Baker says they reached out to owners of Shirazrsquos negatives across the world only to learn that most of these were made from BFIrsquos 1950s copy The process required a team of about eight to piece together segments from both the original negative and the copy and bring forth a film that is cleaner shiner and brighter The negative had begun to deteriorate in 1945 because of the material which was prone to decomposition and the climate of India The worst things for negatives are heat and humidity he saysRobin Baker head curator BFI National ArchiveHot from restoration Shiraz was screened for modernday audiences first at the Barbican Centre in London in October this year One of the most dramatic scenes in the film is when Shiraz is condemned to death under an elephantrsquos foot under Khurramrsquos orders When this scene came on screen there was an audible gasp from the 2000 people in the audience says Baker The screening was accompanied by sitarist Anoushka Shankarrsquos live score a repeat of which will be in Mumbai on November 5 when Shiraz will be screened as part of the UK India Year of Culture 2017 At the heart of Shiraz is a love story shot in Agra that is sure to stir audiences There are also a couple of kissing scenes the kind that marks the golden age of sensuality in Indian cinema And then there is the figure of Selima a heroine who is empowered even though she is sold as a slave She tells Khurram that he may have bought her but not her love Theirs is a story that is not about love at first sight but rather about love earned says Baker