Mon 21 August | 9 pm
RAVI SHANKAR
BETWEEN TWO WORLDS (India/Usa/Francia) (Mark Kidel, 2001, 89')
This documentary – born of two years of shooting and produced by BBC – tells the story of Ravi Shankar, the legendary composer and sitar player, the greatest ambassador for Indian music. Director Mark Kidel shows by means of unique and exclusive sequences the wonderful humanity, as well as the musical prowess, of this extraordinary representative of classical Indian music. Ravi Shankar was born of a Brahamin family in 1920; in the 1930s he moved to Paris to perform in his older brother dance company. Nine years later he became a pupil of Baba Allaudin Khan: it was the start of a long and brilliant career.
Mark Ridel offers an all-encompassing portrait of Ravi Shankar starting with his childhood in Benares, his first clashes with the Hollywood celebrities in the 40s and the years he spent mastering the sitar; it goes on depicting the growth of his stature in India, his work with Satyajit Ray in Pther Panchali and his collaborations with Yehudi Menhuin, John Coltrane and many other master musicians. Ravi's portrait is completed by a recent recording in which Ravi Shankar plays with his daughter Anoushka and the filming of the finishing of the Ravi Shankar Foundation, the ashram that was the master's dream. A fascinating history, told by a skilful use of archived sequences and interviews with the now 82 year old Ravi. Shankar's immense passion for music remains unchanged as his words show: "God has been generous with me. The spiritual journey through music is the only thing that has been really important in my life."
