Music played an important role in the Bangladesh Liberation war. Music directors and composers Samar Das, Ajit Roy and Shujeo Shyam along with singers and musicians like Apel Mahmud, Amitava Sengupta, Manjula Dasgupta, Abdul Jabbar, Mala Khan, Rupa Khan, Rafiqul Alam, Kaderi Kibria, Lucky Akhand, Jahangir Hayat Khan, Mihir Kumar Nandi, Timir Nandi, Fakir Alamgir and Dalia Nausheen played instrumental role in Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra in inspiring the freedom fighters and the nation. A pair of benefit concerts organised by former Beatles guitarist George Harrison and Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar named "The Concert for Bangladesh" were held on Sunday, 1 August 1971, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, to raise international awareness of, and fund relief for refugees from East Pakistan, following the Bangladesh Liberation War-related genocide. The concerts were followed by a bestselling live album, a boxed three-record set, and Apple Films' concert documentary, which opened in cinemas in the spring of 1972.