Talk:The Concert for Bangladesh (film)

Shankar's comment

@JG66: my bad I had not checked the CD version, but on the film (since the article is about the film), the tuning goes (on this version) from 6'14 to 6'29, with the camera on AAK clearly turning tuning pegs and checking strings intonation, and the crowd cheers when Shankar takes the mic again, as they would have done anyway. The difference between the two versions may occur because some part was edited for the film version (or else the disc and film versions weren't the same session since there was 2 concerts, but it seems improbable because Shankar's introduction and comments are identical on cd and dvd). Anyway, now the "mistaken-for-an-entire-piece" tuning part has been reduced from 90 sec to 30 sec. It's fine if some commentators believe the audience really mistook for an entire piece these 30 seconds of musicians fidgeting on their instruments's tuning pegs, I trust you that there are sources stating this, but by watching the video it looks no more than a joke by Shankar, in an uneasy context when he has to play Indian classical music for a public that came to hear pop-rock stars. (Though it is not relevant for the article since it has to be based on sources and not personal interpretation,) with the video of the actual concert before your eyes, do you really feel the audience is cheering as if it was the end of a musical piece?--Phso2 (talk) 11:25, 25 May 2021 (UTC)

@Phso2: Well, not your bad at all, judging by the reduced portion shown in the film (or at least, that version of the film) – because, as you say, this article's synopsis needs to be true to what we see there. The entire Indian musical portion of the concerts was greatly reduced, anyway; the musicians played for about 45 minutes in reality.

The thing with this issue is that the concert(s) took place in August 1971 and were widely reported in some detail. The album then came out in the US in December (Jan 1972 elsewhere else, but then the film opened a few months later everywhere else too), and Shankar's "If you like the tuning so much" quip, and Harrison's onstage comments, were mentioned in album reviews. So, the significance of this particular comment appears to have been established for a contemporary audience. But of course, looking at it now, without that information, perhaps it doesn't tell the same story ... I've read about this bemused response from Shankar so widely – in Peter Lavezzoli's The Dawn of Indian Music in the West, Ken Hunt's writing, such as his chapters in Rough Guide World Music, it's probably mentioned in some Shankar obituaries as well, also album and film reviews. But it's not as if I'm bring these sources to the table now, so you should feel free to ensure the synopsis delivers what it's meant to do. Somewhere down the line, I'm sure the issue will be sorted – ie, it's part of the film's legacy, so if the point's expanded on in a later section, that'll be fine. JG66 (talk) 13:52, 25 May 2021 (UTC)