Himanshu Rai's classic leads Indian movies at London Film Fest

"Shiraz", a classic silent film dating back to 1928, leads the handful of Indian entries at this year's London Film Festival, which opens next month.
It was announced today that "Shiraz", an Indo-German-UK co-production made by actor-filmmaker Himanshu Rai, will bescreened as a part of the annual festival's Archive Gala.
The film, directed by Franz Osten, was co-produced by Rai, who was also the lead actor in it.
Sitarist Anoushka Shankar has set a new musical score for the film, which has been restored by BFI National Archive and Dragon Digital.
The restoration has significantly improved the picture quality of the film, British Film Institute said in a statement.

"A new score commissioned by the BFI from world-renowned sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar will be performed live with an ensemble of musicians playing Indian and western instruments," the statement read.

"Shiraz" is the story of how Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and how his biggest creation, the Taj Mahal, came to be built.
Apart from the 1928 classic, BFI's 'Experimenta' section will screen Kamal Swaroop's "Om Dar-B-Dar" and Anurag Kashyap's "The Brawler" (Mukkabaaz) will be shown in the 'Thrill' segment of the festival.
Swaroop's film, despite getting praise in international film festival circuit, did not officially release in India till 2014.

In the 'Dare' segment is UK-India co-production "The Hungry", directed by Bornilla Chatterjee and starring Naseeruddin Shah. It uses William Shakespeare's 'Titus Andronicus' as the source of a story about a ruthless businessman whose world is threatened by an evil act.
India will also feature heavily in a Pakistani documentary by Sabiha Sumar, "Azmaish - A Journey Through the Subcontinent" as it traces the political and cultural landscape of contemporary Pakistan and India, 70 years after Partition.
As many as 243 films will be screened from 67 countries, in 15 cinemas across London during the festival, which runs from October 4 to 15 this year.