An astonishing treasure of the silent cinema, Shiraz is an ambitious and elegant film that takes creative license with the story of the life and death of the 17th-century Mumtaz Mahal (Enakshi Rama Rau), the Mughal empress whose early demise inspired her husband to construct the Taj Mahal. Inventing a backstory involving bandits, slavers, and nobility-in-disguise, the film narrative give us a robust romantic adventure, filled with teeming crowd scenes and location shots that double as invaluable documentary.

Shot entirely on location in India, it features lavish costumes and gorgeous settings — all the more impressive in this restoration by the BFI Na-tional Archive, which features a specially commissioned score by the Grammy Award-nominated Anoushka Shankar.

Produced by and starring Indian film legend Himansu Rai, the film is performed by an all-Indian cast, featuring Rai as humble potter Shiraz, who follows his childhood sweetheart Selima (Enakshi Rama Rau) when she’s sold by slave traders to the future emperor (Charu Roy).