Raga (film)

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Raga
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHoward Worth
Written byNancy Bacal
Produced byHoward Worth
Starring
CinematographyJames Allen
Edited byMerle Worth
Music byRavi Shankar
Production
company
Apple Films
Distributed byApple Films
Release date
  • 23 November 1971 (1971-11-23)
Running time
97 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
Languages
  • English
  • Hindi

Raga is a 1971

Monterey Pop Festival
.

The majority of the documentary was shot in the late 1960s, during a period when Shankar's growing popularity saw

Apple Films. In addition to actively promoting Raga, Harrison produced the soundtrack album – a project that led directly to he and Shankar staging the Concert for Bangladesh
in August 1971.

The film's working title was alternately East Meets West and Messenger Out of the East. In 2010, to coincide with celebrations for Shankar's 90th birthday, East Meets West Music released a fully remastered version on DVD, titled Raga: A Film Journey into the Soul of India. The expanded soundtrack album was also made available, via digital download.

Production

New York film-maker

psychedelic drugs.[17][18]

Speaking in 2010 of his involvement in Raga, Worth recalled that he disliked Indian music initially, but soon changed his view.[19] At the request of Canadian television producer Nancy Bacal, he attended a private recital by Shankar, in the company of singers Judy Collins and Leonard Cohen, a performance that convinced Worth that he wanted to direct the planned Shankar documentary after all.[19] Worth also served as producer,[20] and he and Bacal worked on a script at Collins's house in California.[19]

The film was originally called East Meets West, according to author Peter Lavezzoli;[21] Messenger Out of the East was an alternative working title.[22] The first of these titles referenced West Meets East, Shankar's 1966 album with American violinist Yehudi Menuhin, and the winner of the 1967 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance.[23]

Filming

To be received like this in a foreign land – my God, it is overwhelming. I never felt so much warmth and openness, so much love for our music ... But I wonder how much they can understand, and where all this will lead to.[24]

– Shankar's opening narrative in Raga

Much of Raga was shot during the first half of 1968 in India, particularly

Bombay,[19] home to Shankar's Kinnara School of Music since 1963.[25] Among the scenes filmed in India, Shankar directs musicians such as Shivkumar Sharma, Hariprasad Chaurasia and Kartick Kumar in a Bombay studio and, in a scene titled "Vinus House", enjoys a casual musical get-together with singer Vinay Bharat Ram and violinist Satyadev Pawar.[24]

Maihar Railway Station in 2009. In Raga, Shankar journeys by train to Maihar as part of his reaffirmation of his cultural roots.

Early in the film, Shankar travels by train to the Madhya Pradesh town of Maihar, to see his father-in-law and esteemed music teacher (or guru), Allauddin Khan,[26] known affectionately as "Baba".[27][28] Worth recalls this visit as a nervous occasion for Shankar,[19] who states in his role as narrator: "Whenever I think of [Baba], I have a mixture of fear and awe. For us, guru is sometimes greater even than God."[24][nb 2] Another scene features dancers from the South Indian kathakali tradition,[21] reflecting Shankar's early career as a dancer with elder brother Uday's pioneering troupe during the 1930s.[10][30]

According to Worth, the emotional highpoint of filming was when Shankar visited his spiritual guru,

guru-shishya tradition he had experienced under Allauddin Khan.[33] Shankar later reflects on the comparative rush to master the intricacies of Indian music by his Western students in Los Angeles,[24] where he opened a branch of the Kinnara School in May 1967.[34]

Raga includes footage of a pair of celebrated live performances by Shankar from 1967, a year that Lavezzoli describes as the "

Shankar's scenes with George Harrison were filmed at the Esalen Institute in California.

Another milestone for the popularity of Indian music was the June 1967 release of the Beatles'

Madras in April 1968, following the Beatles' stay at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's meditation ashram in Rishikesh,[46] but a bout of dysentery prevented him from participating in filming for Raga.[47] Worth subsequently filmed Harrison's contributions at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California,[48] on 10–11 June 1968.[49] In one of the scenes, Harrison receives sitar tuition from Shankar; in another, they both participate in a singing class[21] with students from Kinnara.[50] While his immersion in Indian music had been the most significant factor behind Shankar's recent rise to international fame,[44][51][52] Harrison would later cite this visit to Esalen as presaging the end of his commitment to the sitar.[53][54][nb 4] As of 2006, the scene in Raga featuring Shankar instructing Harrison was the only known film footage of Harrison playing the sitar during his years as a member of the Beatles.[58]

California was also the location for the film's penultimate scene, in which Shankar, looking out over a windswept beach, questions the validity of his attempts to bring Indian culture to America.[59] In his narration for the scene, he reads out a passage adapted from My Music, My Life, reaffirming his belief in Nada Brahma.[59]

Apple Films' involvement

After the main filming over 1967–68 in India and the United States,[60] financial and technical problems interrupted production on Raga.[61] According to Worth's recollection, the original financier for the project, whom he describes as "Ravi's manager", was forced to back out, having been committed to a psychiatric ward.[19] In Raga Mala, Shankar says that he financed the film himself, adding: "which was rather sad because it cost a large amount and I only realised this later!"[40]

Once back in New York, Worth contacted Harrison, hoping to secure support from

Apple Films as a distributor.[19] Worth credits Harrison with saving the production and thereby "chang[ing] my life".[19]

Soundtrack

Raga
Soundtrack album by
Released7 December 1971 (US)
RecordedApril–July 1968; June–July 1971
GenreHindustani classical
Length39:34
LabelApple
ProducerGeorge Harrison

The majority of Raga's musical soundtrack was recorded between April and July 1968.[66] Aside from the recitals featured in the film, Shankar provided incidental music,[40] the co-ordination of which was credited to his sister-in-law Lakshmi Shankar (for pieces classed as "East") and American musician Collin Walcott ("West").[67][nb 6] Among the notable Indian musicians contributing to the soundtrack were Bismillah Khan (shehnai), Shivkumar Sharma (santoor), Hariprasad Chaurasia (bansuri), Aashish Khan (sarod), Shankar Ghosh and Zakir Hussain (both tabla), and singer Jitendra Abhisheki.[67] For a scene that Shankar describes in Raga Mala as "reflect[ing] all the distortions in that period – Indian music mixed up with rock, hippies and drugs", Walcott created a piece titled "Frenzy and Distortion", using "a profusion of electronic sounds".[40]

In June and through to July 1971, Harrison, as producer, prepared the recordings for release in conjunction with the movie.

atrocities being committed by West Pakistan against the people of Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan, and before that, East Bengal).[22][71] In response to a plea for assistance from Shankar, a Bengali by birth, Harrison set about organising the Concert for Bangladesh, held at Madison Square Garden, New York, on 1 August.[72][73] Work on the Raga soundtrack was completed in mid July,[69] around the time of sessions for Shankar's Apple Records EP Joi Bangla.[74]

Release

Raga received a limited release in November 1971, solely in the United States.

On 24 November, Shankar and Harrison filmed an appearance on The David Frost Show,[81] where they again discussed the film and Harrison gave a rare demonstration on sitar.[77][82] Two days later, Shankar performed at Carnegie Hall, accompanied by Rakha and Chakravarty, giving his first New York concert since the Concert for Bangladesh shows in August.[83] Writing in The New York Times in November 1971, film critic Howard Thompson described Raga as "quietly penetrating" and "beautifully made", adding: "Everything about it is admirable."[84]

On 7 December 1971, Apple Records released the soundtrack album (as Apple SWAO 3384) – like the film, in America only.[85] Billboard's album reviewer commented on the packaging's "superb photo folio showing the sitarist's career" but said that, due to the fact that only portions of ragas were present, the soundtrack's "greatest attractiveness may be to those who see the movie or are Shankar collectors".[86]

In August 1972, Harrison screened Raga for select guests at a cinema in Mayfair, London, to coincide with Shankar's upcoming appearance at Southwark Cathedral.[87] According to a report in Record Mirror in early November 1973, the film was due to open in London later that same month.[88]

When asked at the press conference for his and Shankar's 1974 North American tour whether the attendant publicity was likely to lead to a re-release for Raga in the US, Harrison expressed his hope that it would, but lamented that the restrictions imposed on cinema operators by film distributors were "like the way the record industry was ten years ago". He added: "If you don't work on Maggie's farm, you don't get your movie on, you know?"[89]

Reissue

Raga was released on home video in 1991, distributed by Mystic Fire Video.[50] The Shankar-affiliated East Meets West Music (EMWMusic) remastered the film and released it on DVD in October 2010, with the new title Raga: A Film Journey into the Soul of India.[90] The release was part of EMWMusic's celebrations for Shankar's 90th birthday.[91] Shankar said of his reasons for reissuing the film: "It was a very special period of my life. I really want today's generation to see what it was like for me to be in such a unique and exciting position – to be the first to bridge the gap between the East and the West and to devise a new way to attract, educate, initiate and draw those in the West to the exceptional world of Indian classical music and culture."[92]

On 1 November 2010, the film was screened at the New York headquarters of the Asia Society,[93] which had promoted Shankar's first US appearances in 1957[94] and now honoured the artist with its Cultural Legacy Award. The event was introduced by composer Philip Glass and attended by Anoushka Shankar (representing her father, who was too sick to attend),[95] along with people involved in the original production such as Worth, Gary Haber and Merle Worth.[93] Writing in Songlines magazine, Jeff Kaliss gave the Raga DVD a five-star review and described the film as an "honest, entertaining portrait of a maestro" that was "[as] satisfying musically as it is visually".[96] In an article on the 2015–16 Grammy Museum exhibit on Shankar, music historian Harvey Kubernik said the DVD was "recommended viewing".[97]

In place of the 1971 promotional image for Raga, which showed a silhouette of a cow against a backdrop of a sunset, the new cover consisted of a still of Shankar playing sitar during the 1960s.[98] This photo, taken by Canadian portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh,[98] shows a portion of the seven-played-string model of sitar that Shankar had popularised over the more traditional six-string model favoured by musicians such as Vilayat Khan.[99][nb 8]

For the 2010 reissue, EMWMusic expanded the soundtrack album from thirteen selections[66] to seventeen, with all recordings fully remastered.[98] The Raga soundtrack was available via digital download with the documentary film.[30]

Album track listing

Original 1971 release

All songs by Ravi Shankar, except where noted.

Side one

  1. "Dawn to Dusk" – 3:38
  2. "Vedic Hymns" (PD) – 1:30
  3. "Baba Teaching" (PD) – 1:08
  4. "Birth to Death" – 3:10
  5. "Vinus House" – 2:37
  6. "Guru Bramha" – 1:10
  7. "United Nations" (Shankar, Yehudi Menuhin) – 4:33

Side two

  1. "Medley: Raga Parameshwari / Rangeswhari" – 4:31
  2. "Banaras Ghat" – 2:45
  3. "Bombay Studio" – 1:51
  4. "Kinnara School" – 1:51
  5. "Frenzy and Distortion" – 1:06
  6. "Raga Desh" – 8:50

2010 digital download version

  1. "East/West Introductions" – 3:08
  2. "Dawn to Dusk" – 3:41
  3. "Vedic Hymns" – 1:36
  4. "Baba Teaching" – 1:17
  5. "Birth to Death" – 3:15
  6. "Vinus House" – 2:41
  7. "Gurur Bramha" – 1:15
  8. "United Nations" – 4:41
  9. "Medley: Raga Parameshwari / Raga Rangeshwari" – 2:54
  10. "Banaras Ghat" – 1:49
  11. "Bombay Studio" – 2:48
  12. "Kinnara School" – 1:34
  13. "Frenzy and Distortion" – 1:56
  14. "Raga Desh" – 9:02
  15. "The Spirit of the Raga" – 2:33
  16. "What Is a Raga?" – 1:41
  17. "The Seriousness of It" – 3:15

Notes

  1. ^ Hunt adds that within "two decades" of Shankar's debut performances in Western Europe and America, in 1956,[11] he was "probably the most famous Indian alive".[10]
  2. ^ In his 1997 autobiography, Raga Mala, Shankar comments on the difficult relationship he had with his father-in-law, due to longstanding marital problems between himself and Baba's daughter, Annapurna Devi.[29]
  3. ^ This event took place on 10 December 1967 and included accompaniment from Rakha[41] and Chakravarty (the latter on tambura).[42] Adding to its significance, the Human Rights Day recital was the first time that Indian classical musicians had been seen by a global television audience.[43]
  4. 1980 autobiography, Harrison explains: "By this time I had met a few hundred sitar players who were all sensational, yet Ravi had hopes for only one of them that he would be a really great sitar player.[47][57]
  5. ^ Worth does not give a date as such yet mentions Apple's New York office and Harrison asking him to pick his favourite of five recordings, one of which was "My Sweet Lord".[19] Apple's New York office did not open until April 1970,[63][64] and Harrison recorded "My Sweet Lord" in London in May–August 1970, before arriving in New York on 28 October with the master tapes for his All Things Must Pass album.[65]
  6. ^ Walcott studied under Shankar at Kinnara in Los Angeles.[40] In a 2006 interview with Peter Lavezzoli, Shankar singled him out as "my first American disciple" and the most dedicated of all his students in Los Angeles – the majority of whom "were not sure of what they were really looking for" and "were mostly interested in getting stoned".[68]
  7. ^ The Concert for Bangladesh, featuring Shankar's performance of "Bangla Dhun" with Ali Akbar Khan and Rakha,[78] would finally be issued in America four weeks after Raga opened.[79]
  8. ^ In addition to the six or seven played strings, sitars have between nine and thirteen sympathetic strings, and the number of frets on the neck similarly varies.[100] In My Music, My Life, Shanker recommends having twenty frets, rather than the standard nineteen.[100]

References

  1. ^ "Raga (A)". British Board of Film Classification. 26 July 1973. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  2. ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 187, 197.
  3. ^ Shankar, My Music, My Life, p. 100.
  4. ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 171–72.
  5. ^ World Music: The Rough Guide, pp. 109–10.
  6. ^ Robert Shelton, "Indian Raga Music Gains in Popularity Across U.S." Archived 7 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine, New York Times, 20 December 1966 (retrieved 3 December 2013).
  7. ^ Bruce Eder, "George Harrison", AllMusic (retrieved 20 July 2014).
  8. ^ Book accompanying Collaborations box set by Ravi Shankar and George Harrison (Dark Horse Records, 2010; produced by Olivia Harrison), p. 11.
  9. ^ a b Lavezzoli, p. 172.
  10. ^ a b c Ken Hunt, "Ravi Shankar", AllMusic (retrieved 24 November 2013).
  11. ^ Lavezzoli, p. 61.
  12. ^ "'My Music Not For Addicts' – Shankar", KRLA Beat, 29 July 1967, p. 10; available at Rock's Backpages (subscription required; retrieved 20 June 2014).
  13. ^ "Ravi Shankar: 'Our music is sacred' – a classic interview from the vaults", theguardian.com, 12 December 2012 (retrieved 13 August 2014).
  14. ^ Shankar, My Music, My Life, pp. 65, 100, 102, 105.
  15. ^ Leng, pp. 24, 27–28.
  16. ^ Shankar, Raga Mala, pp. 209, 210.
  17. ^ Sue C. Clark, "Ravi Shankar: The Rolling Stone Interview", Rolling Stone, 9 March 1968 (retrieved 15 December 2013).
  18. ^ Clayson, pp. 210–11.
  19. ^
    YouTube
    (retrieved 1 November 2013).
  20. ^ a b Castleman & Podrazik, p. 320.
  21. ^ a b c Lavezzoli, p. 184.
  22. ^ a b Clayson, p. 308.
  23. ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 8, 63.
  24. ^ a b c d e f Raga: A Film Journey into the Soul of India.
  25. ^ Shankar, My Music, My Life, p. 97.
  26. ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 15, 51, 184.
  27. ^ Shankar, My Music, My Life, pp. 58–60.
  28. ^ Reginald Massey, "Ravi Shankar obituary", The Guardian, 12 December 2012 (retrieved 13 August 2014).
  29. ^ Shankar, Raga Mala, p. 221.
  30. ^ a b "Ravi Shankar Raga: A Film Journey into the Soul of India DVD", East Meets West Music (retrieved 1 November 2013).
  31. ^ Shankar, My Music, My Life, pp. 89–90.
  32. ^ Clayson, p. 207.
  33. ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 12–13, 51.
  34. ^ Shankar, My Music, My Life, pp. 97–98.
  35. ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 6, 63, 184.
  36. ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 7, 105–06, 180–81.
  37. ^ Shankar, Raga Mala, pp. 157, 196, 268–69.
  38. Times of India
    , 18 February 2012 (retrieved 15 December 2013).
  39. ^ Lavezzoli, p. 181.
  40. ^ a b c d e Shankar, Raga Mala, p. 210.
  41. ^ a b Lavezzoli, pp. 7–8.
  42. ^ Shankar, My Music, My Life, p. 96.
  43. ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 7–8, 63.
  44. ^ a b World Music: The Rough Guide, p. 109.
  45. ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 6–7, 180.
  46. ^ Miles, pp. 293, 296.
  47. ^ a b George Harrison, p. 57.
  48. ^ George Harrison, pp. 57–58.
  49. ^ a b Badman, p. 54.
  50. ^ a b Madinger & Easter, p. 422.
  51. ^ Clayson, p. 210.
  52. ^ Philip Glass, "George Harrison, World-Music Catalyst and Great-Souled Man; Open to the Influence of Unfamiliar Cultures", The New York Times, 9 December 2001 (retrieved 1 December 2013).
  53. ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 171–72, 177–78.
  54. Crawdaddy
    , February 1977, p. 41.
  55. ^ Olivia Harrison, pp. 194, 221.
  56. ^ Leng, p. 36.
  57. ^ Lavezzoli, p. 185.
  58. ^ Unterberger, p. 202.
  59. ^ a b Shankar, Raga Mala, pp. 210–11.
  60. ^ Shankar, Raga Mala, pp. 209–10.
  61. ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 184, 187.
  62. ^ Castleman & Podrazik, pp. 317–18.
  63. ^ Badman, p. 6.
  64. ^ "It's Really a Pity", Contra Band Music, 15 March 2012 (retrieved 9 November 2013).
  65. ^ Spizer, pp. 220, 222.
  66. ^ a b Castleman & Podrazik, p. 107.
  67. ^ a b Credits, Raga: A Film Journey into the Soul of India.
  68. ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 425–26.
  69. ^ a b Badman, p. 36.
  70. ^ Madinger & Easter, pp. 422, 435.
  71. ^ John Harris, "A Quiet Storm", Mojo, July 2001, p. 74.
  72. ^ Leng, p. 111.
  73. ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 187–88.
  74. ^ Castleman & Podrazik, p. 103.
  75. ^ "Irish Sitar", Contra Band Music, 3 May 2012 (retrieved 7 November 2013).
  76. ^ Badman, p. 55.
  77. ^ a b "Big Bop Baby", Contra Band Music, 4 May 2012 (retrieved 7 November 2013).
  78. ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 8, 66, 194.
  79. ^ Badman, pp. 54, 58.
  80. ^ Rodriguez, pp. 321–22.
  81. ^ Madinger & Easter, p. 439.
  82. ^ Badman, pp. 55–56.
  83. ^ Billboard staff, "Shankar, 'Raga' At Carnegie", Billboard, 27 November 1971, p. 16 (retrieved 30 August 2015).
  84. ^ Howard Thompson, "Screen: Ravi Shankar; 'Raga,' a Documentary, at Carnegie Cinema", New York Times, 24 November 1971, p. 23 (retrieved 1 November 2013).
  85. ^ Castleman & Podrazik, pp. 107, 320.
  86. ^ "Album Reviews", Billboard, 18 December 1971, p. 25 (retrieved 1 November 2013).
  87. ^ Badman, p. 80.
  88. ^ Peter Jones (ed.), "Reflections: Ravi raga saga", Record Mirror, 10 November 1973, p. 10.
  89. ^ Steven Rosen, "George Harrison", Rock's Backpages, 2008 (subscription required; retrieved 5 July 2016).
  90. ^ "Raga: A Film Journey into the Soul of India", eastmeetswest.com (retrieved 25 October 2016).
  91. ^ News > "8/15/10 Raga DVD", eastmeetswest.com, 15 August 2010 (archived version retrieved 25 October 2016).
  92. ^ Suanshu Khurana, "Raga Reloaded", The Indian Express, 9 September 2010 (retrieved 16 May 2017).
  93. ^ a b News > "11/1/10 | NY | ASIA SOCIETY SCREENING!", eastmeetswest.com, 1 November 2011 (archived version retrieved 25 October 2016).
  94. ^ "Ravi Shankar: A Life in Music", asiasociety.org (retrieved 12 August 2014).
  95. ^ "Ravi Shankar: Award Ceremony and Film Screening", asiasociety.org (retrieved 12 August 2014).
  96. ^ Jeff Kaliss, "Ravi Shankar Raga: A Film Journey into the Soul of India", Songlines, 26 November 2010, p. 85 (archived version retrieved 25 October 2016).
  97. ^ Harvey Kubernik, "Ravi Shankar: A Life In Music Exhibit at the Grammy Museum May 2015–Spring 2016", Cave Hollywood, 16 June 2015 (retrieved 1 May 2017).
  98. ^ a b c Liner notes, Raga: A Film Journey into the Soul of India.
  99. ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 14, 30–31, 33.
  100. ^ a b Shankar, My Music, My Life, p. 111.

Sources

External links