Films on Indian Musicians
A series of documentary films on Indian musicians will be featured on account of World Music Day at the India Habitat Centre starting today. The line up includes –
Asad Ali Khan – A Portrait, Directed by Renuka George
Date Thu, 21 Jun 2012
Time 7:00 PM
Asad Ali Khan – A Portrait is a portrayal of the great Rudra Veena maestro, Ustad Asad Ali Khan. Through the film we discover Khan’s family history, from the Rampur court to New Delhi where he lived with his adopted son, Zaki Haider.
Siddeshwari, Directed by Mani Kaul
Date Fri, 22 Jun 2012
Time 7:00 PM
Based on the life of renowned thumri singe Siddheshwari Devi, the film focuses on the singer’s affair with classical music and key events in her life, including her early years of training and her struggle to survive as a single mother.
The actress Meeta Vasisth performs Siddheshwari, who started singing at the age of 16. The narrative is itself structured like a thumri piece: it presents key motifs (of Siddhi’s life as well as of myths and locations) and elaborates on and around them with different songs, moods, camera movements, etc., until the whole becomes a moving tapestry celebrating the transfiguration of life into music.
The Musical Journey of Begum Akhtar
Date Sat, 23 Jun 2012
Time 7:00 PM
The Musical Journey of Begum Akhtar is an audiovisual presentation by Vidushi Shanti Hiranand, senior disciple of Begum Akhtar.
Dhrupad, Directed by Mani Kaul
Date Sun, 24 Jun 2012
Time 7:00 PM
Dhrupad is a documentary on one of the oldest form of surviving classical music in India. And here Mani Kaul combines his self-reflexive threads to weave a mesmerizing documentary on the essence of ragas often sublimed with images and voice-overs describing the growth and history of the musical genre. He does this by studying the eponymous classical music form of Dhrupad, specifically the Dagarvani variation of it practiced by the Dagar family, with whom the director had close associations._
By: Tanvi Chug
Follow me on Twitter: @Chimerical_T
