REELING BACK
What: Born in 1903 in Munich, Josef Wirsching came to India in 1925 while working as a cinematographer on Light of Asia for Emelka Film studio, which was produced by Indian Himanshu Rai and shot entirely on location in India. Wirsching was impressed and beguiled by India, and nearly a decade later when Rai with his wife Devika Rani established the historic Bombay Talkies studio in Bombay, Wirsching returned along with film director Franz Osten and a team of technical experts to create productions on par with international standards.
While shooting, Wirsching also pointed his still camera to document how the team worked. The archive from the Wirsching Collection spans his career at Emelka Film (1923-34), Bombay Talkies (1934-54), AMA Ltd. (1954- 58) and Kamal Pictures (1958-67), and provides a glimpse into the early years. These photographs are on display at the exhibition titled ‘Bombay Talkies: 60 Photographs form the Josef Wirsching Collection.’ This exclusive set of digital photographs shows a professional industry in action, including behind-the-scenes shots of cast and crew on location and in the studio, production stills, and publicity images.
When: January 27 – February 14 (11am – 7pm)
Where: Triveni Kala Sangam, 205, Tansen Marg
MUSIC IN MOONLIGHT
What: Immerse yourself in a specially crafted evening of music with this year’s first edition of ‘Under the Banyan Tree on a Full Moon Night’. The Baithak-style evenings, where moonlight and music blend to recreate the poetic charm of traditional musical gatherings, offer audiences an intimate experience with the like-minded and an opportunity to engage with the musicians. This edition will celebrate jazz in its diversity and uniqueness. Taking both its global soundscape and its Indian context, the concert will explore the genre through two mesmerising musical acts. The first performance will see João Bittencourt, an accomplished pianist, accordionist, composer, arranger, producer and musical director from Brazil. This will be followed by ‘The Revisit Project’ that successfully blends jazz and
funk with a bout of nostalgia.
When: February 16 (7 pm onwards)
Where: 1AQ, Opposite Qutub Minar, Mehrauli
DEFINING GOODNESS
What: The Pandies Theatre group presentation of Brecht’s iconic script ‘The Good Person of Schezwan’ (1940-43) sees it as a move towards participatory theatre, where the audience and the actors work together to frame an ethics for the disintegrating world in which we live. What constitutes a good person? How do you define goodness? As we search –, along with the three gods –, for the good person, the quest becomes of creating a good world, of improving our world.
When: February 15-16
Where: Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre
