Raga (1971)

Directed by

Howard Worth

Genre

documentary film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 36m

Rating

9.0 of 10 from 2 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This documentary follows the life and music of Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar. It shows his training in central India and his performances with Western musicians.

contemplativereverentmeditativemusicalnostalgicculturally immersivearchival

What happens

Raga is a 1971 documentary film about the life and music of Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar, produced and directed by Howard Worth. It includes scenes featuring Western musicians Yehudi Menuhin and George Harrison, as well as footage of Shankar returning to Maihar in central India, where as a young man he trained under the mentorship of Allauddin Khan. The film also features a portion of Shankar and tabla player Alla Rakha's acclaimed performance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. The majority of the documentary was shot in the late 1960s, during a period when Shankar's growing popularity saw Indian classical music embraced by rock and pop musicians and their audiences. Financial problems then delayed production until Harrison provided assistance through the Beatles' company Apple Films. In addition to actively promoting Raga, Harrison produced the soundtrack album – a project that led directly to Harrison 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. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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