Shiraz

The 1928 historical drama Shiraz, a gorgeous historical melodrama about a poor potter and a powerful prince both in love with the same beautiful woman, is the second of three collaborations between German director Franz Osten and Indian actor/producer Himansu Rai. Rai plays the title character, a peasant craftsman who searches for Selima (Enakashi Rama Rao), an orphan raised by Shiraz's father, after she is kidnapped and sold into slavery to the royal family. When the Prince (Charu Roy) falls for her purity and beauty, the scheming Dalia (a scene-stealing Seeta Devi) plots to get rid of Selima to clear the way for her own marriage plans. The Prince is both a romantic and a despot who sentences a man to death by elephant and rewards the designer of the Taj Mahal by ordering his eyes burned out (neither sentence is carried out but the threat creates vivid drama). This lavish production was shot entirely in India with an Indian cast and an international crew and it showcases the distinctive landscape and ancient architecture of India, including a real royal palace and the Taj Mahal itself, as well as ornate outfits and set decorations. Shiraz was a success both in India and in Europe, where Indian exoticism was in vogue, and the larger-than-life melodrama is still entertaining some 90 years later. Recently restored by the BFI, the film is presented with English intertitles and an original score by Anoushka Shankar. Extras include a restoration demo and the archival 1944 short "Musical Instruments of India." Recommended. (S. Axmaker)