Thursday, January 24, 2008

Konkani Film "ALEESHA"


‘Konkani cinema needs a boost’
Pushpa Iyengar
Tuesday, April 10, 2007 (DNA)


PANAJI: In 2005, ‘Aleesha’, a Konkani film won the national award for best film in the country. It gave a shot in the arm for the regional film industry in Goa, but while the film won accolades and a Rs 12 lakh in prize money, the industry still suffers from the usual ailments — lack of finance and audience.

“The Goan filmdom needs financial patronage and push,” says Keshav Nadkarni, actor and secretary, Goan Organisation of Filmmakers (GOF) that is dedicated to develop film culture and regional cinema in Goa.

Recently, GOF requested the government to implement its financial scheme for Goan producers fully without any amendments till year 2010. “This will definitely give a chance to all Goan producers covered under the scheme to come out with their films which will compete with national regional cinema,” Rajendra Talak, President, GOF, told DNA. Under the scheme (notified by the state government in 2006), the department of information has selected four Konkani celluloid films, two Marathi films, one telefilm and four documentaries for financial support.

Talak was all praise for the government’s initiative in selecting 21 applications out of 41 for filmmaking under the scheme “since we are at the infantile stage of filmmaking”. While the 20-year period between 1950 to 1970 saw 20 films Konkani films being made, there was a virtual lull for the next 30 years till he made ‘Aleesha’.

That Goa is a permanent venue for IFFI (International Film Festival of India) is also a plus point, although it is debatable whether the film culture that has developed here has benefited Konkani cinema. But although there are 30 lakh Konkani-speaking people spread over Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala, not only is the dialect different but so is the script and that encompasses a huge cultural chasm.

The GOF has already taken the initiative to get benefits such as entertainment tax exemption for Konkani films, providing public places for shooting by paying only Rs 1,000 per film and has made cinema theatres available for Goan films. These are areas where the government can give it a push, says Talak, adding “We are not beggars to go and ask. They should call and give us the money.”

But the ultimate solution lies in making Konkani cinema commercially viable, says Nadkarni. Make a Konkani potboiler and the cash registers will jingle, he feels.

Goa’s award winning director Rajendra Talak

Goa’s award winning director announces launching of new Marathi film
BY HERALD REPORTER


PANJIM, NOV 6 – Goa’s first national award-winning director for a Konkani film Rajendra Talak on Tuesday announced his new film Saavariya.com in Marathi and Hindi which would hit the screens at IFFI 2008, even as he declared his stint with Konkani cinema-making was over.
Addressing a press conference to announce his new project, Talak informed, “The making of Saavariya.com will cost around Rs 90 lakh and part of the movie will be shot in London. I’ve retained Ashok Patki to do the music for the film, while Vidyadhar Pathare and Devu Devdhar (cameraman) are the other names finalised.”

The award-winning director said the shooting for the film, the storyline of which is based on Internet marriages, will begin in March 2008 and he expects to wind it up in a month’s time like his earlier projects – Aleesha and Antarnad. While Aleesha fetched the director a national award, Antarnad, which was also made in Marathi (Savelee), won him accolades from Maharashtra.

He said two Hindi and two Marathi production houses have evinced keen interest financing Saavariya.com. In December I will submit the proposal to the Hindi production houses, he stated.

Talak, who declared his journey into Konkani filmmaking as bad, said, “From now on I will not make any Konkani cinema on my own, but if the Government invites me to make a film in the local language I will be there.”

He rued over the fact that the Government had failed to clear the amount (Rs 16 lakh) due to him for his national award-wining film Aleesha, which was shown at IFFI. Till date I’ve spent Rs 1.35 crore and have been able to get back Rs 60 lakh.

The director condemned the bureaucrats for moving slow when it came to processing files pertaining to film finance, even as he lauded Chief Minister’s recent instructions to do whatever possible for Konkani cinema.

“I will request the CM to set a deadline for bureaucrats to clear all files relating to Konkani cinema,” he added.

Hitting back at critics of the Government scheme for final assistance for films, Talak said, “There’s no flaw in the scheme and there has been no favouritism shown towards me for gaining from the scheme. Milind Mhadgoot and others, instead of making allegations should concentrate on making good cinema.”

He expressed his displeasure with the film workshops held in the State. “There are absolutely no follow-ups after these workshops are over. Goans take filmmaking lightly,” he asserted.Meanwhile, the filmmaker has announced that those seriously interested in acting can contact him on talak@sancharnet.in. He was accompanied by Ketaki Haldipur and Sonali Kalangutkar, who are his assistants in film directing.

http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=3909&cid=26

Fifty years of Konkani cinema


Function to mark fifty years of Konkani cinema
NT News Desk

The dalgado konkani akademi will be celebrating konkani cinema day to commemorate the day of release of the first konkani full length feature film "Mogacho Aunddo", which was released on April 24, 1950, and also to pay respect to the father of Konkani cinema Al Jery Braganza, writer, producer, director and hero of the first Konkani film "Mogacho Aunddo', and "Sukhachem Sopon".

The function will be held at T B Cunha hall on April 24 at 4.30 pm. Rico Rod, veteran film and stage personality, who also was the co-producer of the old back and white Konkani film "Kortubancho Sounsar" and Rajendra Talak, producer and director of the recently released konkani film "Alisha" will be the guests of honour.

The special attraction of this programme is that the Konkani film lovers will have a rare opportunity to hear the audio tracks of orignal old Konkani films like Mogacho Aunddo, Jivit Amchem Oxem, Sukhachem Sopon, Mog ani Moipas, Nirmon, Girestkai, Bogsanne, Suzanne, Jivanacho Khell, Moji Ghorkan, Boglantt, etc with brief information on the same by Konkani film and music historian and writer of the publication 50 Years of Konkani Cinema, Mr Andrew Viegas.

The function will be presided by president of Dalgado Konkani Academy, Mr Tomaxinho Cardozo.

lino dourado libado23s53 at yahoo.com
Wed Apr 20 2005
_________________________

Celebrando 50 anos do Cinema Concani

Autor: gaunkar Data: 20/4/2005 Mensagem lida 44 vezes


Goa não é só igrejas, praias, feni, mandós e tiatr. Também na Sétima Arte, brilharam estrelas goêsas pela primeira vez há 50 anos. O 1º filme "Mogacho Aunddo" estreou-se no Cinema Nacional de Panjim em 24 de Abril de 1950. Nessa altura os ladrões da meia noite do grupo de Ali Bábá indiano (Nerhu) ainda não tinham pisado o solo de Dadrá e Nagar-Aveli (Silvassa). Tinhamos uma vida sossegada e nas ruas circulavam carros Mercedes e Opel. Quem não se lembra ou que não esteve em Goa ainda pode ver tais carros no filme concani "Amchem Noxib".

No filme Mogachi Faxi são vistos apenas os Fiats 1100 que a Italia deixou de fabricar em 1962. India é o único país do Terceiro Mundo que neste Século XXI ainda utiliza para TAXI aquelas carangueijolas do século passado atentando contra a saúde dos passageiros com gases não controlados de Bahrat Petroleum. Os fundos desses TAXIS estão podres deixando muitas vezes entrar cobras capêlo que para alguns ganthis representa Deus. Só o encantador de serpentes consegue correr com aquele Deus carregado de veneno.

http://www.supergoa.com/pt/forum/read.asp?c_post=3268 as
_________________________

50 years of Konkani cinema 1950-2000
Volume 1, Issue 1, 2000


Editorial - for the love of Konkani (Al Jerry Braganza -
The Father of Konkani Cinema) 3

Origin of Cinema 6

Konkani motion pictures/ celluloid films 9
1. Hindi films with the word 'Goa' in their title 20
2. Over 100 films filmed in Goa 28
3. Konkani actors/ goans in other language cinema 35
4. Konkani films remade/ dubbed in other languages 42
5. Hindi playback singers who sang Konkani songs 48

Incomplete/ under production celluloid films 49
6. Goan musicians who played for Hindi films 54

Model of the Issue 59
They said it-1 60

Konkani video films/ tele films 61
7. When christian musicians first played in Indian
films 64
8. The first Indian cinema song 69
9. The first silent film to be filmed & shown in Goa 73
10. Hindi films actors who spoke in Konkani 78

Incomplete/ under production video films 79
11. The Konkani tiatrs in which films were shown 82

The said it-2 84

Konknnintlim cholchitram Alvaro Gomes 85
12. Goans in Indian film industry 90

Konknni cholchitr Hema Naik 93
Vision on Konkani cinema Pundalik Naik 98
13. The goan cinema houses of yesteryears 99

Konknni film-gitam 101
14. The first broadcast of Lata's songs on radio Goa 105

National film archives of India Andrew Greno Viegas 106
Film and TV institute of India Andrew Greno Viegas 110

15. The number of cinema theatres in India 111

Poetry 111
Konkani video's/ film songs on T.V 112
Konkani film songs on radio 112
Jacinto Vaz and Konkani cinema Andrew Greno Viegas 113
Appreciating Films 115
Sex scenes in moives Fr. Mike 117

16. The films screened in villages by Govt. depts. 119

United entertainers 121
There's drama in my mustard Isabel De Santa Rita Vas 123
Pinocchio & Asterix in Goa Andrew Greno Viegas 125
On being a mustard seed Prajal Sakhardande 126
News reel 128
References 134



Konkan entertainment : 50 years of Konkani cinema 1950-2000

English/Editors-Viegas, Andrew Greno; {Taleigao-Panaji Goa: 2000}

Keywords - {Indian Cinema,Goa}

FILM, REGIONAL, Konkani

VIEGAS (Andrew Greno). Konkani cinema turns 50. Screen. 49(33); 5 May 2000; 6.

Traces the history of Konkani cinema since the first Konkani motion picture released on April 24, 1950.

______________ TO ORDER YOUR COPY ___________
50 years of Konkani Cinema
By United Entertainers
Price: $3.0 or Rs. 50.0

(2000) / Pp 136

A delightful account of Konkani cinema, this book is for all those who like quirky insights into forgotten aspects of culture
-mail: admin@otherindiabookstore.com

Address:
The Other India Bookstore
Above Mapusa Clinic
Mapusa 403 507, Goa, India
Telephone: 91-0832-2263306/2256479
Fax: 91-0832-2263305
http://www.otherindiabookstore.com/

____________________

While others shot, Andrew wrote ... the story of Konkani cinema

Art lecturer, Konkani author and guitarist-singer
Willy Goes pays tribute to a humble, young man who
died of Cancer in Goa recently, after working humbly to
record the history of Konkani cinema.

By Wilfred "Willy" Goes
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

When a book titled '50 Years of Konkani Cinema' was published
in the year 2000, history of sorts was created. This book is
a detailed historic account of fifty years traverse across
the world of Konkani cinema. As an avid fan of Konkani cinema
and Konkani culture, I was happy that somebody had indeed
published such a book. In fact, the book was the product of a
one-man research, and that man was Andrew Greno Viegas. Today
this book is used as the only reference book by researchers
of Konkani cinema all over the world.

I did not know who Andrew Greno Viegas was at that time, but
had a strong desire to meet this man and congratulate him
personally for the impressive and path-breaking work he had
done.

It was Cecil Pinto who introduced me to Andrew during a
meeting of the core organizing committee of Second All India
Konkani Music Convention, a mega event which was held in
Panjim in 2004. I was given the responsibility to compile and
edit the convention magazine, and Andrew was a member of the
editorial board. He was one of the few members of the board
who showed a genuine concern and helped to make the magazine
worthwhile.

He stood by me in this endeavour and provided interesting
material. He suggested names of many writers who could
contribute to this magazine. He would call me regularly, and
would visit my house to monitor the progress of this
magazine. During this period, I was happy that I was actually
interacting with the author of a very useful publication. And
I also realized that he, being a simple and down to earth
person, was immensely gifted.

During this period, a bond of friendship developed between
Andrew and me. And eventually I realized that Andrew had a
vast collection of Konkani films, Konkani music and Konkani
film and music-related matter in the form of articles,
posters, and other memorabilia.

The collection also included film projectors and gramophone
record players. "I spend a large part of my earning on
collecting these things," he once told me. He was working on
his next book, tentatively titled "90 Years of Konkani
Music."

Even though he had enough material, the work was not gaining
momentum mainly due to financial constrains. Andrew traveled
far and wide to pursue his research, and he did this at his
own cost. There was no financial support, neither from the
Government, nor from any trust.

In the year 2005, Andrew called me and discussed about
celebrating April 24 as Konkani Cinema Day. We further
discussed it with Dalgado Konknni Akademi president Tomazinho
Cardozo, and other members of the Akademi. The idea was well
received and it was immediately decided to commemorate the day.

Andrew arranged everything that was required for the day. He
brought his gramophone records of the film 'Mogacho Anvddo',
the gramophone player and the like. His father assisted him
in arranging all that was required. In his opinion, the first
Konkani film 'Mogacho Anvddo' by Frank Fernand had to be
highlighted on this day.

He did a collage of sound tracks of some old Konkani films
too. The function was attended by veteran tiatrists and
Konkani film actors and was a big success. It was a precedent
to commemorate April 24 as Konkani Cinema Day, and it has
been done successful for the last three years, and hopefully
will be continued to be done for the years to come. This
year, Konkani Cinema Day was attended by office bearers of
Kala Academy, Directorate of Art and Culture and
Entertainment Society of Goa too.

Once, Andrew told me that, as a seventh or eighth standard
student, he would spend his entire pocket money on buying
film related newspapers, magazines, books, video tapes,
cassettes and just about anything that was related to Konkani
film and music. He also collected Konkani books and novels,
and information about anybody he felt was contributing
towards Goan and Konkani culture. I was surprised to find in
his collection a small article on me published in one of the
local dailies in the year 2001, regarding my work in
photography. We had not met each other then.

Andrew never had anything bad to say about others.
The only complain I heard from him was that,
somebody translated his book '50 years of Konkani
Cinema' in Konkani without his permission, and did
not even acknowledge his work appropriately. He was
deeply hurt by this. He had the right to be hurt,
because he had spent a fortune and his life to
compile the book.

When I told Andrew that I had written a novel in Konkani, and
wanted to publish it, he was quite excited about it, and
advised me to show it to Bonaventure D'Pietro, a very
experienced and known Konkani novelist.

In a few days time, he arranged for a meeting between the two
of us, and I handed over the manuscript of the novel to
Bonaventure, who willingly read it and corrected all the
mistakes. He assured me that the manuscript was good, and
that I should go ahead and publish it. The novel 'Altoddi ani
Poltoddi' was eventually published by the Dalgado Konkani
Akademi. Andrew also went all the way to Mapusa and brought
me copies of novels by Reginal Fernandes and Bonaventure D'Pietro.

It was on Christmas eve last year when I received a call from
Andrew. It was quite late in the evening. As usual I greeted
Andrew with 'Hi Andrew, How are you.' Instead of a hale and
hearty 'I am fine', I heard a feeble and apprehensive voice
of Andrew saying 'Willy, I am not well, I went to the GMC for
a scan, and they have advised me to go to Tata Memorial
Hospital immediately. I am leaving tomorrow.' Early next
morning I rushed to see him. He seemed alright; obviously a
little shaken by the shocking news. When he returned from
Mumbai, his family got the news that he was diagnosed with
lung cancer. He had to take six doses of chemotherapy.

The chemo doses began, and with every dose, instead of seeing
an improvement in his health, I saw his health sliding
downhill. We did everything to strengthen him morally. He was
aware that he would be around not for long. He kept on
talking about his next book, '90 Years of Konkani Music', and
he also had a desire to do a more colourful reprint of the
'50 Years of Konkani Cinema'.

He was also worried about his vast collection of Konkani
film- and literature-related material. He wanted to catalogue
everything. By then he had become very weak. I promised him
all assistance. I even discussed it with Tomazinho Cardozo,
and Tomazinho suggested that we employ an assistant to help
Andrew to complete the cataloguing, but that was not to be.

I visited him about twice or thrice a week, and every time I
saw him, I went home disturbed. I prayed and even argued with
God as to why Andrew should stay on, on this planet. He had
important work tp finish.

But as the saying goes in Konkani, 'Devacho ghutt devuch
zanna' (God alone knows His secrets). We have to humbly bow
down to His will and pray that He grant Andrew's dear ones
strength and grace to bear the loss. His son Amroy Andrew
Viegas was exactly one month and twenty two days old the day
Andrew breathed his last. He will grow up without the loving
and assuring touch of a father, but will surely be proud of
his father's achievements and will carry on the good work of
his father. Courtesy: "Goanet Reader"


-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Miguel Braganza, S1 Gracinda Apts,
Rajvaddo, Mhapsa 403507 Goa
Ph 9822982676
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Why Konkani cinema gets viewed with one eye ...

Why Konkani cinema gets viewed with one eye ...
... or, why Goa needs to build itself as a better destination for culture

By Tomazinho Cardozo
tomazinho at sify.com

In November 2004, Goans witnessed one of their region's greatest cultural
bonanza, the International Film Festival of India in Panjim. I call it a
cultural bonanza because it involved the screening of films in four to five
theatres and showcasing of Goa's culture right from the Dempo House to
Miramar beach.

If about 1500 delegates witnessed the films, over 25000 people enjoyed the
cultural programs presented on the Mandovi riverfront every day. On specific
days, the audience crossed 50,000. Throughout the nine days programs,
thousands of Goan artistes performed and a few hundred thousands of Goans
enjoyed. However, dissenting voices are being heard about its continuance in
Goa this year. Whether IFFI should or should not be once again organized is
a very serious matter.

Although it is 55 years now since the first Konkani Film 'Mogacho
Anvddo' was produced by AL Jerry Braganza, Konkani cinema has not
seen bright days till date -- with few exceptions such as films like
'Amchem Noxib' and 'Nirmonn'. There are various reasons for this
state of Konkani Cinema. Goa has communal harmony but no cultural
harmony. It is evident from the fact that a Konkani 'Nattok' is
overwhelmingly witnessed by Hindus while a Konkani 'Tiatr' is
patronized by Christians. Commercially, the 'Tiatr' is very
successful as each 'Tiatr' completes hundreds of shows, and that too
with priced tickets for entry.

The same does not take place in case of 'Nattoks'. The audience of Konkani
cinema is also the same. It is due to this reason that Konkani cinema has
adversely suffered in the past, and continues to suffer even today. Recent
examples being Konkani films like 'Aleesha' and 'Sood'.

However, if you take for example a Hindi Cinema, both of Goa's major
communities enjoy it without any hesitation. That would suggest that an
experiment of the type of a Hindi cinema in Konkani is needed, in order to
make Konkani Cinema commercially viable. It is time to gear our efforts in
that direction. In view of this, the continuation of the IFFI in Goa
acquires more importance. By organizing the IFFI one thing is sure: Goa will
not lose anything, on the contrary, it will gain something.

As an artiste from the cultural field, I am of the strong opinion
that the IFFI should continue to be organized in Goa. The question
whether the festival should continue here or not; that should have
been asked before the infrastructure was created. Crores of rupees
have already been spent on the development of infrastructure of an
international standard. Now it is time to get the benefit out of
that expenditure. In what way will it harm Goa if IFFI is continued
to be organized here? And what benefit would Goa get if IFFI is not
organized here this year? I think we should not look at IFFI through
the prism of politics. Instead, today, we should concentrate on
finding ways and means to organize it in a better way.

Last year, the IFFI was organized in Goa for the first time. There must have
been many mistakes committed by the organizers, as it was their maiden
venture. Even I brought to the notice of the then chief minister, Manohar
Parrikar, certain glaring blunders in the planning of the presentation of
Goa's culture during IFFI. The chief minister rectified the mistakes
immediately. However such mistakes should not be intentional, because the
communal harmony prevailing in Goa should be protected, preserved and
promoted under any circumstances. And this can be achieved by giving due
representation to cultural aspects of all communities of people.

Organization of an event like IFFI, I feel, does not require staging of
cultural programs as it was done last year, although it attracts the
involvement of more people. However, the screening of films in various parts
of Goa, like last year, may be continued. Emphasis should be laid on
obtaining copies of old Konkani films and screening them during the festival
in a special slot. This is not done anywhere in the world where
international film festivals are organized but let it be the uniqueness of
IFFI in Goa. Continuation of IFFI in Goa, besides numerous other benefits,
will definitely help in strengthening the film culture in Goa.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tomazinho Cardozo, besides being a politician (and former
Speaker of the Goa assembly), has long been associated with the field of
Konkani culture. He is known for the plays he has staged, and a vast number
of other popular cultural products he has catalysed over the last three
decades. (GOANET.ORG)

http://thisisgoa.com/view/816a1ee43d2d978f6bfa

Leena Chandavarkar: A Konkani Actress' Profile

Leena Chandavarkar: A Konkani Actress' Profile



Leena Chandavarkar is a Hindi movie actress who was quite popular in 1970s. This article may give some insight into Leena Chandavarkar's place in the history of Bollywood for Hindi movie lovers. Even otherwise, you will be glad to discover a talented Konkani woman from Dharwad who is virtually unknown to many people despite being an achiever in the field she chose to excel.
Although veteran film actress Leena Chandavarkar spent reasonable amount of time in Dharwad, she has never been a much talked about personality in Dharwad. It is almost close to twenty years now since she faded away from the glitter of the tinsel world. It is quite natural for people not know much about her now. But even when she was doing great in Bollywood, there never used to be much talk about her or about her films.


There used to be (may be still there) a compound (an independent house with a large open yard) called Chandavarkar's compound in Gopalpur locality (close to railway station) which is part of Malmaddi. Specially of most of the compounds in Gopalpur is that all of them look real royal with very spacious yards and exotic vegetation all over the yard. Film actress Leena Chandavarkar spent some of her childhood and adolescence living there. Chandavarkar's compound had the distinction of being one of the few compounds, which had sandalwood trees in its yard. Her father was a retired officer in armed forces and chose to live in Dharwad.


Leena studied at Bassel Mission Girl's high school for some years. According to her teacher, there was nothing unusual about Leena other than couple of incidents of disobedience and arrogance.


Sometime during her adolescence her family moved over to Bombay. The folks of Dharwad woke up one fine morning in 1969 to be surprised by the news of Leena's movie debut. It was not big news, as academically oriented Dharwad never gave a damn to anything other than academic excellence. It was 1969 and people were still quite a bit orthodox and getting into movies was viewed to be some sort of a taboo by general public. Those were the times when people never considered any form of art as a profession to be chosen by a decent person and trying to get into movies - a definite 'No','No'. Most probably a general hopeless shrug with pinch of sarcasm. Leena began her career like this and for next ten years or so she acted in a couple of dozens of films and made a decent mark and earned herself a respectable place in the crazy jungle called Bollywood.
Leena's first film was 'Man Ka Meet'. The hero, heroine and villain all were debutantes in this film. This film, produced by Sunil Dutt, introduced his brother Som Dutt (photocopy of Sunil Dutt) as an actor, Leena Chandavarkar as an actress and more interestingly Vinod Khanna (of Rajneesh fame) as a villain. What a debut for Vinod Khanna? Same Vinod Khanna who played villain against Leena in their first film was a hero opposite Leena in 'Qaid', which I consider, the most interesting movie of Leena Chandavarkar.


'Man Ka Meet' was an average film with some decent music. Story of a simple village boy and a city girl. In the beginning the girl just pretends to be in love and ultimately really falls in love after giving a lot of headache to everybody.
Between 1969-1979, Leena acted in many films. She was cast opposite to majority of popular heroes of that era. She gave one of her best acting performances in 'Mehboob Ki Mehandi' with Rajesh Khanna. Who has not heard of very melodious and sentimental song 'Jane Kyon Log Mohabbat Kiya Karthe Hai' sung by melody queen Lata Mangeshkar. This song was filmed on Leena. The movie actually starts with this mega-hit song. This is a good movie involving a girl who escapes from a gang of thugs who try to force her into becoming a professional 'Mujara' dancer. She somehow manages to get out of that town to become a governess for a kid in a royal family of Lucknow. She gets into usual romance with the scion of the royal family (Rajesh Khanna).

After a lot of heartburn both get together and live happily ever after. Dialogues in this film have a real heavy dose of Urdu to bring in Lucknowi effect to the film.
The hallmark of Leena's career was 'Humjoli' with Jeetendra. The famous rain song 'Hai Re Hai Neend Nahi Aaye' was a sure chart buster. This song also featured Leena, probably for the first time, dancing away to glory in the rain. Without dancing in the rain no actress's life can be complete in Bollywood. Nothing unusual about the movie itself. Romance, intermittent tragedy, ultimately happy ending. But, this movie was a big hit and brought a lot of recognition to Leena Chandavarkar.


Leena also acted in two films 'Manchali' and 'Anhonee' with classic and versatile Sanjeev Kumar. Both of them are real good films. 'Manchali' is a film about a girl who ventures out to find a husband through newspaper advertisement, meets this man (Sanjeev Kumar), conditionally marries him to escape from the pressure of guardians for an early marriage and when it comes to end the contract and get rid of the contractual husband, you know, lot of sentiments and they renew the contract and live happily ever after.


'Anhonee' is a different type of a movie. In this movie, Leena Chandavarkar is a psychiatrist. Sanjeev Kumar is her adopted patient. Sanjeev Kumar once again plays the role of a mad man as he did in 'Khilona'. However, scope for playing the full blown mad man was not there. So, he is kind of a half mad in this movie. But, in reality he is a police officer to investigate the mysterious death of Leena's father. Leena is blackmailed as murderess. She cures the mad man and gets herself mad in his love. Sanjeev Kumar keeps pestering her for marriage and she keeps avoiding that. Later hero puts a lot of senti and she discloses that she has killed her father who tried to molest her when he was drunk (you know, by now, that somebody else killed him and framed her). She gets to know that Sanjeev Kumar is not a real mad man but a brilliant police officer on the day of her engagement with him and has the worst heartbreak and sings a senti song. Later Sanjeev Kumar rescues her from her stepmother and a gang of thugs who killed her dad in the first place and are after her life now to get the property (typically 'Karodon Ka Jaidaad'). She gets set with mad man turned lover turned ditcher turned lover again and movie ends.


'Qaid' with Vinod Khanna is a real nice movie. This movie has a good story line with suspense and good direction. Mehmood provides the much-needed humor. This is also a movie in which Leena is in one of the most glamorous and bold roles wearing only western outfits all through the movie. Quite refreshing to see her totally transform from a typical Indian woman in most of her films to a trying-to-be-a-bomb sort of an actress. Her petite figure and lack of height surely seemed to be major deterrents for this transformation. Even then this role is a big refreshing change from her old image. The movie is about a confused girl who has abandoned home to explore the world and gets stuck with a budding lawyer (Vinod Khanna). They sing a song dressed as fisherman (woman) and bust some thugs. Some good songs and humor as well.


There is another good movie with Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore and Leena Chandavarkar. (Anyone remembers the name?) A typical love triangle where Sharmila is the losing (rather self-sacrificing) side of the triangle. Good music and great performances by all.


She also acted with Raj Kumar (of 'Jaani' fame) in 'Dil Ka Raja'. She also acted with Navin Nischol in 'Aafat'. 'Honeymoon', her movie with Anil Dhawan as hero, is supposed to be movie with good tinge of humor.
Looking at the number of her movies and number of hits, I do not think Leena was ever a major star even when she was doing quite well in her career. It was an era of a lot of competition in Bollywood (it is always like that). Old timers like Mumtaaz, Saira Baanu, Nanda, Sadhana etc. were trying to hold on to their top position by delivering one or two great films every year. More glamorous and ready-to-bare-it-all heroines like Sulakshana Pandit, Sarika, Yogita Bali etc. were making a beeline to crack the bastion of old timers. Amidst this stiff competition, I must say Leena's achievements are quite significant.
Also that was the era of hippie culture and every director wanted big sized heroines (then known as cowgirls). Leena, a petite beautiful woman, did not really fit the bill and could not withstand the rush of tinsel bombshells like Zeenat Amaan, Reena Roy, Parveen Babi, Neetu Singh etc. and slowly moved into oblivion somewhere around 1979.


When you think about any actor or actress, you always tend to think about the gossips of those times. Film magazines make their living by filling their magazines with such gossip. Only gossip that was in vogue about Leena was her alleged attempts to get close to cricket legend Sunny Gavaskar. In personal life, Gavaskar is gem of a man and this gossip died it own death due to the fact that both the people involved were real clean as far as their personal lives were concerned.

They may have met on different occasions and under different circumstances and for different reasons. Media was crazy then after it busted big time affairs between cricketers and actresses like Gary Sobers - Anju Mahendru, Zeenat Aman- Imran Khan, Sandeep Patil - Debashree Roy, Mohsin Khan-Reena Roy and so on. So, any actress happening to meet a cricketer always provided the raw material for filmi-journalists' trash gossip. The saga continues even today with filmi magazines churning out tones of pulp on alleged affairs between Azhar-Sangeeta Bijlani and Shoaib Akthar - Sonali Bendre (latest one).
I have conflicting information about the personal life of Leena Chandavarkar. Few old timers in Dharwad claim that she was initially married to some Dilkush Desai (??), a businessman and a politician from Goa. But, she is better known as the wife of famous playback singer Kishore Kumar. Kishore Kumar had just been divorced from Yogita Bali (his third wife) and married Leena to settle down finally in life. Their conjugal bliss, very unfortunately, did not last long as Kishore passed away after a few years. Leena has a son from Kishore Kumar.


Today, Leena Chandavarkar may be in her fifties. She lives in Bombay with her son and a couple of cats (source: a couple of months old Filmfare magazine). Recently she also brought out an audio (or video) cassette along with Sham Anuragi (??). Looks like all veteran actresses are into some sort of entertainment production business. Started with Zeenat, followed by Reena and now it is Leena.


She was in Siddapur, in Karnataka, last year to take part in a worldwide Konkani (community to which she belongs) conference along with other celebrities from Konkani community like Girish Karnad, Sham Benegal, Suman Kalyanpur etc. She also gave away Filmfare awards for Marathi films some time back in Poona.

Courtesy: www.dharwad.com

Konkani magazine to document life of film personalities

Konkani magazine to document life of film personalities
28 Aug 2004

PANAJI: A local Konkani monthly magazine Bimb will document Konkani speaking Indian film industry personalities for its special Diwali issue. Shyam Benegal and Girish Karnad are among the many Konkani speaking personalities in the industry.

Konkani language is not limited to Goa as the language is spoken along the Konkan coast that extends till Kerala, says publisher of Bimb , Dilip Borkar. Many film personalities have their roots in these areas, says Borkar.

The effort of the magazine devoted to Konkani literature and writings has decided to bring them together as the film industry is scheduled to make a grand appearance for the first time in Goa for the forthcoming international film festival of India.

Musicians Anthony Gonsalves, Bhaskar Chandavarkar and actor turned producer, Sachin, cine artiste, Varsha Usgaonkar are some of the notables who would be approached for either for interview or even they could write articles for the issue, says Borkar who is a writer.

The coming together of these film personalities would have a spin off for the growth of the industry in the long run as also to disseminate information to half a lakh of the subscribers of the magazine. The magazine staff would be contacting the Mumbai based film artists and solicit write-ups and information by e-mail.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/830655.cms

Mangalorean Konkani Film ‘Mog Ani Maipas'

Late Michael Maxim D’Souza, well known among Konkani music lovers as Mick Max was born on April 13, 1950 in Bejai and his parents were Paul and Florine D'Souza. He was the eldest among his three sisters and five brothers.

He is a well known name in the field of Konkani literature, drama and music. He started his career as a sub editor of the then popular Kannada daily Navabharath. Having worked in Muscat for 22 years, he continued his service of building up the Konkani community after his return.

He was a good musician and his songs have been compiled in 3 volumes, popularly known as Mick Max Golden Hits. Apart from being a good musician, he was also a prolific writer. He has to his credit 3 Novels, 2 Short Story Books, 1 Drama Book, 6 Stage Plays, Poetry and hundreds of articles in leading Konkani Periodicals.

His two novels won the "The Best Novel of the Year Awards" in 1984 and 1986 from the Goa Konkani Saahithya Parishad.

He was the recipient of year 2002 Karnataka Sahitya Academy Drama Book Award.

His stage play "Patim Polloinaka" won the best second play award in the year 2002 during the All India Drama Competition held in Bangalore.

He has been honoured by Sandesha last year for his contribution to Konkani literature and by the Konkani Kutam Bahrain in 2003.

He was also honored by Konkan Karaval Kalakaar - a premier Konkani theatre group of Mangalore, for his contribution and services to Konkani litterateur and theatre.

A little known fact about MickMax was that he also starred in the pioneering Mangalorean Konkani Film ‘Mog Ani Maipas' and has also written dialogues for the same.

He was in the process of scripting a Konkani serial for a local TV channel when death intervened on April 24, 2006.

He leaves behind his wife Joyce and children Karishma Michelle and Karan Russell.

http://www.canaraworld.com/canara_music/music_artists/02_mickmax/mickmax.htm as

Mangalorean Konkani Film ‘Mog Ani Maipas'

Late Michael Maxim D’Souza, well known among Konkani music lovers as Mick Max was born on April 13, 1950 in Bejai and his parents were Paul and Florine D'Souza. He was the eldest among his three sisters and five brothers.

He is a well known name in the field of Konkani literature, drama and music. He started his career as a sub editor of the then popular Kannada daily Navabharath. Having worked in Muscat for 22 years, he continued his service of building up the Konkani community after his return.

He was a good musician and his songs have been compiled in 3 volumes, popularly known as Mick Max Golden Hits. Apart from being a good musician, he was also a prolific writer. He has to his credit 3 Novels, 2 Short Story Books, 1 Drama Book, 6 Stage Plays, Poetry and hundreds of articles in leading Konkani Periodicals.

His two novels won the "The Best Novel of the Year Awards" in 1984 and 1986 from the Goa Konkani Saahithya Parishad.

He was the recipient of year 2002 Karnataka Sahitya Academy Drama Book Award.

His stage play "Patim Polloinaka" won the best second play award in the year 2002 during the All India Drama Competition held in Bangalore.

He has been honoured by Sandesha last year for his contribution to Konkani literature and by the Konkani Kutam Bahrain in 2003.

He was also honored by Konkan Karaval Kalakaar - a premier Konkani theatre group of Mangalore, for his contribution and services to Konkani litterateur and theatre.

A little known fact about MickMax was that he also starred in the pioneering Mangalorean Konkani Film ‘Mog Ani Maipas' and has also written dialogues for the same.

He was in the process of scripting a Konkani serial for a local TV channel when death intervened on April 24, 2006.

He leaves behind his wife Joyce and children Karishma Michelle and Karan Russell.

http://www.canaraworld.com/canara_music/music_artists/02_mickmax/mickmax.htm as

Goa's film connection

For Goa's film connection, read on

By Frederick Noronha, Panaji, Nov 30: As Goa fights hard to ward off assertionss that it has little or no film culture, one need only flip through a 257-page book that traces this region's links with movies to lay such doubts to rest.


"Location Goa", by journalist Mario Cabral e Sa, was released during International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2006, but is yet to be widely circulated or noticed even here.

And what better time to go through it than another IFFI.

The film festival shifted here in November 2004. But after investing huge funds, the glitches in the past years resulted in hints from New Delhi that it may be shifted out.

Regional film industries have protested against Goa being kept as the permanent venue, and 'lack of a film culture' has frequently been cited against Goa's case.

Author Cabral e Sa has researched scripts for Goa-related feature films and documentaries. He has authored 16 books too.

"Location Goa" also makes a case to suggest that Goa "from a cinematic point of view... has a charm of its own, a tradition, culture, and both man-made and natural environment which are unmatchable".

Director Shyam Benegal writes in the book: "I visited Goa for the first time in 1967, a few years after its liberation from Portuguese rule. It was an extraordinary experience. Goa was both a part and apart from the rest of India."

The book also throws up delightful nuggets of information - for instance, the fact that over 90 films have been shot with Goa as their backdrop.

Actresses from Goa like Ermelinda Cardoso (Sudhabala) have played an important role in the silent movie era, says the book. Cabral e Sa suggests that Cardoso - who used the stage name of Sudhabala - probably also "introduced Prithviraj Kapoor to Indian cinema". Sudhabala starred in more than 30 films and acted opposite Prithviraj Kapoor in "Cinema Girl".

Journalist-critic-screenwriter Deepa Gahlot comments that "films too numerous to list have been shot in Goa" and, besides Bollywood, these include international films like "The Sea Wolves", "The Bourne Supremacy", "Bride and Prejudice", and "Marigold".

She adds: "Hindi films have had many characters with (Goan) names like Pinto, Braganza, Fernandes, Gonsalves, D'Costa and D'Silva; lots of Monicas, Rosies, Michaels and Monas. Two films with Goan heroines named 'Julie' have been made, and the legendary Bobby was also a Braganza from Goa. One of Amitabh Bachchan's most loved characters (Amar Akbar Anthony) was called Anthony Gonsalves."

But the critic suggests that some films showed Goa as a stereotype. On her list of best films linked to Goa, Gahlot lists "Jaal" (1952), "Johar Mehmood in Goa" (1965), "Saat Hindustani" (1969), "Bombay to Goa" (1972), "Bobby" (1973), "Julie" (1975), "Ek Duuje Ke Liye" (1981), "Pukar" (1983), "Trikal" (1985) and "Saagar" (1985).

Also on her list are "Jalwa" (1987), "Goonj" (1989), "Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na" (1993), "Khamoshi-The Musical" (1996), "Josh" (2000), "Musafir" (2004), "Dhoom" (2004), "My Brother Nikhil" (2005), "Shabd" (2005), and "Holiday" (2006).

Some films on Goa like "Saat Hindustani" dwell on the fight against Portuguese colonialisation, or a Bollywoodised version of it. Others like "Trikal" look at changes brought in Goa by its diverse rulers, from Portuguese to the Indian government.

"Hindi cinema represents Goans as people on the margins of society," complains journalist Jerry Pinto, himself a Mumbai-based Goan.

There's also a chapter on local Konkani film, whose history was almost forgotten, till some fans of it pointed out that its roots extended five decades-with films mostly created by expat Goans often based in Mumbai (then Bombay).

This book also lists the big stars who have "pranced and danced on the sets in Goa". They include Amitabh, Sanjay Dutt, Aishwarya Rai, Hrithik Roshan, John Abraham, Preity Zinta, Rani Mukerji, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar.

This book also compares past IFFIs held in Goa - some full with traffic jams, extravagance and political gamesmanship, and others "more relaxed, more focused on serious cinema".

(Frederick Noronha can be contacted at fredericknoronha@gmail.com )

--- IANS

http://www.newkerala.com/oct.php?action=fullnews&id=22837

Tribute - C. ALVARES

Tribute
C ALVARES

A drama ends
Celestino Alvares, popularly known as C Alvares, was born on August 11, 1924, in Saligao, in a Catholic family nicknamed fokanneager (comedians). His debut on the tiatr stage at the age of seven, was when he sang a comic song taught by his cousin the late Champion Alvares, himself a formidable tiatrist of yesteryears.

When Alvares went to Bombay in search of livelihood, Champion Alvares was there to introduce him on the tiatr stage in his own drama Bhattkar Goencho ani Cuzner Bombaimcho. Alvares sang five songs on that occasion and enthralled the large crowd. Soon enough he came to the notice of Joao Agostinho Fernandes (father of Konkani tiatr), J P Souzalin (known for religious dramas) and Alexinho de Candolim.

In course of time, Alvares began composing duets and started singing with famed female impersonators of the Konkani stage like Remmie Colaco, Romaldo D’Souza, Vincent de Saligao, Star of Arossim, Andrew, etc. It was the age when no female would dare to act on the stage.

It is probably from the need to have a female to accompany him while singing the duets that he became one of the pioneers to bring girls to enact the female. Miss Mohana, who was acting in Hindi movies, was ushered on the tiatr stage by Alvares. Shalini too, who was a popular Marathi stage actress, joined tiatr because of Alvares. If several girls are popular on the Konkani stage today, it is primarily due to his efforts.

The talented Saliganvkar will always be remembered for his poignant duets, typically Goan, on a variety of social themes. He picked on every foible of his community and sang it on the stage and they here heard on HMV records. His vocals were perhaps run of the mill but the topics he selected for composing the song were definitely noteworthy. Therefore he was duly credited as an “ace director” and “patxai Konkani duettancho” (emperor of Konkani duets).

Alvares must have scripted more than 100 plays during his lifetime, the 100th being Tuje Dolle. Though he was not known so much as a forceful playwright, one has to remove his hat to his exceptional ability to mould artistes to suit the specific role he had in mind. He was one of the best directors of Konkani theatre.

He has performed in Konkani movies like Amchem Noxib, Nirmonn, Mhoji Ghorkarn, etc. He gave evidence that though some people consider tiatrists as mediocre performers, they could face the movie cameras without batting an eyelid. However, his excellent role in Nirmonn, is definitely memorable. The movie was later adapted in Hindi and called Takdeer (of course, without the actors from the Konkani film).

Alvares also produced a video cassette known as Faxi Mogachi, which achieved much popularity. Despite his advancing age, he was in the process of producing another video movie but death called it curtains for him. The best dressed tiatrist--on and off the stage--probably never believed that he could age or die.

Even at the age of 60, tall and handsome Alvares was the evergreen hero of the Konkani stage. His beautiful blue eyes had a strange way of mystifying the audience. Girls loved to act with him. There was hardly any other actor who shone so brightly as Alvares as far as the delivery of dialogue, stage sense, emoting and dress code mattered.

Alvares was not only popular but a very friendly, engaging person and gentleman to the core. The Konkani stage is losing all its stalwarts one by one, and among them he will be the one badly missed for his precious contribution to its immense popularity among the Catholic community of Goa spread all over the world. He has performed not only in Goa and Bombay but even in East Africa, the Gulf, England, etc.

Alvares always maintained that theatre was his first love and that all those connected with theatre were like a part of his family. Hence it was quite natural that the Goan stage was stunned by the news of his demise on February 27 morning at the age of 74 years. He died in Bombay of cardiac arrest.

Speaker Tomazinho Cardozo, a theatre personality himself, condoled the death saying that C Alvares was the greatest Konkani artist, who served Goan tiatr for the last 60 years. Srirang Narvekar, who has been associated with tiatr for a long time, John Gomes, a tiatr columnist now, veteran folk-artist Robin Vaz, tragedienne Jessie and several others too expressed their sorrow at Alvares’ passing away.

A condolence meeting was held at the Woodlands Hotel in Margao, where several tiatrist gathered to pay their tribute to the “ace director”. Veteran actor-director-comedian M Boyer wept when he heard the sad news.

At the Margao meeting, singing actor Wilson Mazarello said that no man has given to Konkani stage as much as the late C Alvares. Fr Planton Faria said that Alvares was a formidable pillar of the Konkani stage.

Perhaps even the Konkani tiatr may die a natural death one fine day (it is already on its last legs) but the name of C Alvares will probably outlive it. Of the 100 years that tiatr has been going on, he has dominated the scene for nearly 60 years.

http://www.goacom.com/goanow/99/mar/issue1/tribute.html

Konkani Television and Beyond

Goan sunset

Sunset

Author: Indika15
Keywords: Goa Sunset
Added: January 23, 2008


Source URL: Goan sunset

“Goan Konkani Film Song & Trailer from film “KHOBRANK LAGON”
Goan Konkani Film Song,Wri. & Dir. By Irineu D'Cruz's Author: raj031073 Keywords: Goan Added: December 24, 2007
“Goan Konkani Film Song & Trailer from film “CHOVIS VORAM”
Goan Konkani Film Song,Wri. & Dir. By Simon Gonsalves Author: raj031073 Keywords: Goan Added: December 24, 2007
“Goan Konkani Film Song & Trailer from film “ORDEM CHADDOR”
Augie & Derrick Author: raj031073 Keywords: Goan Added: December 24, 2007

British Singer, Konkani Song and a wish to act in Konkani film

British Singer, Konkani Song


Peter Barnett, a professional British singer, takes Goa by storm as he croons in Konkani.


IMAGINE THE surprise of audiences in Goa when Peter Barnett went up on stage and sang in perfect Konkani! Peter Barnett, 45, who returned to Britain from a holiday in Goa in June, said: “I was invited by a friend – whom I met and worked with on P&O Cruises – to sing two songs in the Konkani language in the tiatr ‘Mogachi Maim’.” Tiatr is the most popular and commercially successful form of Konkani drama. The performance was in the south Goa town of Margao, and perhaps made him the first European to sing on the Konkani stage in Goa.

“The audience response was initially one of surprise. Some probably came as they saw the adverts in the local papers but didn’t believe a European could do such a thing. They were wonderfully friendly and called me back on stage again and again,” Barnett said. “There was initial curiosity, studying my every word. Then came my realisation that they understood everything I was singing, and great warmth and instant acceptance. This was followed by massive support and appreciation, and the encores I had to do. It was a fabulous experience after I learned to speak some basic Konkani working on ships over the past seven years,” he said.

“My experience before the show was probably the most nervous I have ever been before any performance in my life. Goan dramas are also very lengthy,” said Barnett. As a singer, he worked for P&O Cruises and made friends with many Goans, who work on international cruise liners in large numbers. Having an interest in languages, Barnett said he learnt “basic Konkani from the boys on the ship. I would say that I have a basic knowledge of the language, so probably know only about 30 per cent (of the language).” For the drama, the first song was written for him by the play’s director with whom he had worked on board a ship. The second song was ‘Pisso’, made famous by Goa’s nightingale, singer Lorna. He worked on songs from February till April on board the ship itself. “I think it was a great idea on the part of (director) Joaquim Jack as we made a little bit of Goan history there in that GVM theatre in Margao. The other artistes were so welcoming and presented me with a lovely award to mark the achievement,” recalled Barnett.

He said he is now auditioning in London to get into one of the big musical theatre shows or a tour. “The most difficult part of learning the songs was some of the nasal sounds that we don’t have in the English language and sometimes Joaquim would keep repeating the word. At times, very frustrating! The easiest part was singing ‘Pisso’ as I have been a Lorna fan for years and learned that song back in 1999,” said Barnett. Barnett started his singing career in a close harmony group in Britain. “I went to dancing school when I was younger, but concentrated more on the singing. I have done a little bit of TV work and two films, but I love singing live on stage best of all.” And he loves Goa too. “I first went to Goa on holiday in 2000 and stayed for two months. I had a wonderful time and met up with lots of friends from the ships I have worked on over the years. My favourite food is chicken xacuti (a spicy local dish) and a nice veg pulau,” he added with enthusiasm. “I would love to be in a Konkani film, as long as it is a singing role!”






The performance was in the south Goa town of Margao, and perhaps made Barnett the first European to sing on the Konkani stage in Goa



http://www.ukinindia.org/magazines/britaintoday/BTInnerpage.asp?IssueId=86&magzineId=3&SectionId=814&ArticleId=2174

"Goan Konkani film "TOND BONDH KOR"

"Goan Konkani Film Song & Trailer from film "TOND BONDH KOR"


http://rel8r.com/entry/15552629


http://youtube.com/watch?v=XKpG_HBmAvM


A film by Jack Rodson.

Konkani Cinema Day 2007


Artists, Film-makers should be united: Message on Konkani Cinema Day

PANJIM, Apr 24: Konkani Cinema Day was observed today at the Menezes Braganza Hall here in the presence of numerous cinema lovers. The function was graced by Kala Academy member-secretary Dr Pandurang Phaldessai, GM-Entertainment Society of Goa Nikhil Desai, Director of Art and Culture Prasad Lolienkar and Director of Information Department Menin Pires. The four government officers explained about the various facilities which are being provided by the government through their respective department, for the speedy improvement of Konkani cinema.
Several artists and film producers were present at the function, which was preceded by the garlanding of the photograph of Al Jerry Braganza by former Santo Andre MLA Teotonio Pereira. Rich tributes were also paid to the "Father of Konkani Cinema", Al Jerry Braganza, who released the first Konkani film "Mogacho Anvddo" on this day in 1950.
Speaking to DailyGoaNews Tomazinho Cardozo, president of Dalgado Konkani Academy, the main organisers of today's function said, "On the whole, today's function I feel was successful because it gave a call to the artists and the wellwishers of Konkani cinema to be united, to be dedicated to their work and strive to produce films of a high calibre."
"After 50 years, it is felt that though adequate film technology was not available during the time when Al Jerry Braganza made the movie 'Mogacho Anvddo', he produced it despite all odds only because of his abiding love for Konkani. Today there are many facilities, umpteen institutions including the government supporting film making, which can certainly give a boost to Konkani cinema, and today's meeting is of enough importance because all the heads of the government departments present have assured their whole-hearted support to bring Konkani cinema to a high standard," Tomazinho added.
Anil Govekar, Willy Goes and T-Bush, a young Goan film maker from Kuwait, suggested ways to promote film culture in Goa. On this occasion, Andrew Greno Viegas, a researcher who has documented Goan cinema in his book "50 Years of Cinema", was thanked for rendering yeoman service to document Konkani cinema. Willy Goes said that Andrew has unfortunately is seriously ill at the moment and is undergoing treatment for cancer. Jose Salvador Fernandes compered the meeting while Teotonio Pereira proposed the vote of thanks. [GoaNewsClips/25April2007]

Konkani Telefilm - KANTTEANTLEM FUL -

KANTTEANTLEM FUL - Konkani Telefilm
- Review by Daniel F. de Souza (Exclusive to www.goa-world.net)


Maiden Konkani Film Venture:
For Margao-based farm owner Arnaldo D'Costa his first venture into Konkani feature films may sound a little out of place for many, but, personally for him it was a fulfillment of a long cherished dream. Originally from picturesque Chandor in South Goa, Arnaldo returned to his roots in the year 1996 after a long and successful stint in the Gulf. His first venture 'Kantteantlem Ful' released under the banner of "D'Costa Tele-Film Productions" has already become the talk of town and is drawing a steady crowd wherever it has been screened.

A bold step forward:
Arnaldo D'Costa, basically a name unheard of either on the dramatic stage or the konkani film segment in Goa, has rather taken a very bold step forward and ventured into a field where even Angels would perhaps fear to tread considering the risks involved. And this is one area where Mr. D'Costa deserves all praise from all konkani speaking masses and the so-called lovers of their mother tongue. It is hoped that the konkani lovers will fully support this bold venture and encourage D'Costa Tele-film Productions' to produce more such films in konkani in future.

Aim to Produce a good Konkani Film:
Speaking to this writer Producer of 'Kantteantlem Ful', Arnaldo had this to say, " for a long time I had been toying with the idea of producing a good konkani film. In fact I had been working on the story for quite a long time. When I returned to Goa in 1996 and started work on my farm I got the real break to look seriously into the filmmaking and giving concrete shape to my dream. I penned the story and the dialogues for the film and dramatist Ida D'Costa assisted me in doing the screen play." According to Arnaldo D'Costa, once the plot and script was ready he got about the work of selecting his artists and the Director to direct the film. On the advice and recommendations of the Goa Kala Academy, he appointed Goa's reputed director Dnyanesh Moghe to direct his first
venture. The actual paper work for the film which began in March 2001, took 3 months to complete. The film went on the floor on 6th November'2001 and Arnaldo was able to complete the entire shoot for his film within a record time of 18 days having taken the last shot on 23rd November 2001. The entire film is shot in different picturesque locales in Goa whereas a small part had to be shot outside Goa.



Professional Technical Team:
The entire technical team including cameramen, lights, dubbing etc for the film shooting was engaged from Mumbai who are professionals in their respective fields working with the Hindi Film Industry. And the professionalism is evident in the film.

Budget:
The entire budget for 'Kantteantlem Ful' has touched around 10 lakhs, which the Producer says has actually exceeded his earlier projected budget by a couple of lakhs. However, his only wish is that the Konkani lovers cutting across the borders and boundaries will appreciate his efforts and support him so as to encourage him further to bring out more such telefilms in future.

Goa Government's assurances:
When the producer approached the Government of Goa for a subsidy to produce the Konkani tele-film he returned empty handed, but, the only silver lining in this case was that the Parrikar Govt., was kind enough to waive off the Entertainment Tax for the film. The Goa Konkani Academy also could not come to Arnaldo's help as it had already allotted its budget for the year to other artists. However they have assured him that they would consider his request in future.




About the Actors:
Speaking about the telefilm, this soft spoken and modest Producer said "All the actors in my telefilm rendered me all assistance and full co-operation during the shooting schedule, without their support things could have been difficult. For instance Rose Ferns, Chitra Afonso, Annie Quadros, Imran Mohammed (Hero), Suchitra Narvekar (Heroine), Smita Shirodkar, went out of their way to make time for the shooting schedules and adjusting the timings so well between their other live stage shows and the film shoot". He concludes, 'However, I felt disappointed when some senior and respected Konkani stage artists backed out from my telefilm just because I could not allot them prominent roles."

Beta-Cam Format:
Processed on the Beta-Cam Format, 'Kantteantlem Ful' was premiered at the Kala Academy on 20th January' 2002 and presently the film is being screened in the major towns of Goa. Thereafter the Producer has plans to exhibit the film in the far-flung villages of Goa as also to go to the neighbouring konkani speaking regions outside Goa. Offers and enquiries are already pouring in to screen the film outside Goa.


3 Shows booked for screening in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.:
Arnaldo informed this writer that, shortly he should be proceeding to Abu-Dhabi where 3 shows have already been confirmed. He would not hesitate to visit the other Gulf States if favourable offers come his way from Goan Clubs and Institutions based there. For further enquiries in this respect, Arnaldo could be contacted by email at turbos@goatelecom.com.

A love story with a difference:
Coming back to 'Kantteantlem Ful' it's a love story between Remo, a rich catholic boy and Veena a lower middle class hindu girl. The love story blooms while both are studying at the Law College. However, the love story begins to fade no sooner the boy learns that his love Veena is carrying his child. What happens next ? The story goes through a steady line of emotions, tragedy, guilt, and display of courage and conviction. Veena ably played by Kala Academy professional Theatre artist Suchitra Narvekar, refuses to terminate the pregnancy and brings forth a bubbling new life, a baby girl. Fate however continues to torment Veena leading her to take a hasty decision.


From here on the story takes a different turn keeping the viewer engrossed in the plot as it unfolds and the little baby growing into a young teenager under the loving care of her foster parents, a wealthy childless Muslim couple. Veena in the meantime continues with her life like any other woman courageously facing the society and making an attempt to lead a normal life while she continues with her legal profession. Her marriage to advocate Ashok Naik (played by Sandeep Kalangutkar) brings her face to face with truth during the course of her professional stint. Young Linfa Carvalho a 12 year old kid from Vasco who plays the child artist and Ageema Fernandes who plays the role of a teenager show a lot of promise and abundant acting talents. Smita Shirodkar as the mother, Annie Quadros as the good neighbour and friend excel in their respective roles. So do Chitra and Roseferns in altogether different roles as a Muslim couple. Seasoned Marathi stage artist Alka Velingkar playing a small role as the 'mauxi' is very realistic.

Film's Direction, Photography & Musical Score:
The direction, photography, colour and dubbing are good not forgetting the crystal clear sound track and some soothing musical score. 'Kantteantlem Ful' in my opinion certainly brings a new dawn to quality konkani telefilms and sets a path and standard in filmmaking for others to follow and even improve further. And the scintillating musical score for the film has been composed and arranged by none other then Music Maestro Agostinho Da Cruz.






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Goa-World.Net thanks:
Daniel F. de Souza
Arnaldo D'Costa
Gaspar Almeida

http://www.goa-world.com/goa/telefilm/index.htm


http://konkantube.com/

National Award winning Konkani film

Parrikar literally gives 'talak' to National Award winning Konkani film

PANAJI July. 23, 2005 : Director Rajendra Talak may laugh all the way to the podium to collect the National Award for the best feature film in Konkani, but he will not laugh all the way to the bank. Former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, in his pre-IFFI euphoric enthusiasm, had magnanimously announced that the lone Konkani film to be entered for IFFI would be given all government assistance, 8 months later and Rs.45 lakhs poorer, Rajendra Talak still waits for the government.

The amount is a pittance for the government considering it spent more than Rs.85 lakhs on accommodation and food for high profile celebrities who came to party in Goa during IFFI.

Talak said he is on a high because he has got the National award for a film, which he was confident, had a meaningful theme. Talak now hopes that the National Award just might goad the government to dip into its pockets.

Govt offer to finance Konkani films evokes tepid response

Wednesday, June 3, 1998

Govt offer to finance Konkani films evokes tepid response
Shiv Kumar
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PANAJI, June 2: A recent offer by the Government of Goa to provide finance for producers of Konkani films has received a lukewarm response from the artistic community in the state.
Industries Minister Luizinho Falerio recently said the government is considering setting up a corporation to lend money to film makers to help resuscitate the moribund Konkani film industry. If the proposal comes through, it would be the second attempt by the government in this direction.

The Film Development Corporation, a subsidiary of the state government-owned Economic Development Corporation which was set up in the late 1980s, shut shop six years ago due to lack of patronage. ``Though several film-makers showed interest, none of them approached us with viable proposals,'' says EDC Managing Director M Muddasir.

However, budding film-makers feel that granting industry status to the business and making producers eligible for bank loans will not help film-makers at all. ``What security can we offer the financialinstitutions? A few reels of film or some video cassettes are not sufficient. Even these get destroyed by fungus,'' says Rajendra Talak, whose telefilm Shitu was telecast by Doordarshan last year.

Film-makers estimate that a full-length feature film on celluloid would cost them between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 30 lakh at least. A telefilm shot on video would cost much less between Rs 6 lakh and Rs 8 lakh. But telefilms are not considered attractive options due to their restricted reach. However, a handful of potential film-makers are experimenting with the television medium especially after the state government began to organise film festivals last year. However with no celluloid offering from Goa being featured, the image of the festival has taken a beating.

Goan artistes are demanding that the state government offer subsidies to film-makers on the lines of those offered by Karnataka and Maharashtra. With Karnataka offering subsidies up to Rs 6 lakh for Kannada, Tulu and Konkani films, movies in Goa's ownlanguage are made outside rather than within the state.

The lack of a developed market and saleable stars is another hindrance to box-office offerings in Konkani. ``The only actress from Goa is Varsha Usgaonkar (a starlet in Hindi cinema),'' laughs Dharmanand Vernekar, a documentary producer in the state who has worked with director Gulzar and television personality Kamleshwar. He points out that even Doordarshan has not been able to attract quality programmes in Konkani which has deterred sponsors. Worse, Goa has just 16 cinema halls spread over 3,000 sq km and most of them are dilapidated. With only B-grade Hindi and cheap English sex flicks on offer, most Goans prefer to take in the charms of cinema during visits to Mumbai or Pune.

``The Hindu-Catholic divide is very sharp when it comes to entertainment. The Catholics, who spend big money on cinema and theatre, prefer Westernised forms of entertainment,'' says the spokesperson for the Konkani Bhasha Mandal. Consequently, purveyors of dance, drama andother arts in Indian forms are at a disadvantage, he notes.

Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.

_______________
Regional cinema in the doldrums

Special Correspondent

Shoestring budgets, falling audience interest plague producers





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They solely rely on calls from film festivals to be screened
Films on social issues get insufficient media coverage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Panaji: Faced with shoestring promotional budgets, unsympathetic exhibitors and dwindling audiences, regional films, particularly art films, now solely rely on film festivals, both domestic and international, to get screened, filmmakers said.

Art filmmakers


Biju, producer of Malyalam film "Saira" which was screened in the `Indian Panorama' section at the on-going International Film Festival of India (IFFI) here, was vocal about the woes of art filmmakers. The screening of such a film in the `Indian Panorama' category ought to have helped its producer elicit financial support, he said.

However, a low budget, art film like "Saira" now had to solely rely on film festivals to get a screening, Mr. Biju added.

Some regional filmmakers made no secret of their disillusionment with the media. Rajnesh Domalpalli, producer of "Vanaja," an art film set in rural south India that explores the deep chasm that divides classes, as said that "regional cinema was in dire straits."

Blaming the media for not propagating art films, Mr. Domalpalli said: "The media chases only big budget films and stars. Films on social issues fail to get enough media coverage." Concurring with Mr. Biju, Mr. Domalpalli said that only calls from international film festivals helped producers of such films sustain themselves.

Marathi film industry


However, matters appear to be rosy in the Marathi film industry. Gajendra Ahire, a film producer, said that problems plaguing the Marathi film industry were different.

Despite the huge demand for Marathi films, distributors had failed to explore these markets. He, however, added that Marathi producers had realised that the key to success in the international market was to "universalise language cinema."

A revival


The Konkani film industry in Goa is seeing a revival after 20 years.

A Goan film producer, Rajendra Talak, said the revival was possible due to support from the State Government. He had premiered two Konkani films at the IFFI held in Goa last year.

Subsidy


He felt that other State Governments must emulate Goa, which recently unveiled a financial assistance scheme that gives subsidies and bonus points for regional films. The abundance of prints of films from other languages is the biggest challenge for Kannada film producers, T. S. Nagabharna, producer and director of Kannada film "Kallarali Hoovagi," said.

http://hindu.com/2006/12/03/stories/2006120301271100.htm

Konkani film industry needs a boost

Konkani film industry needs a boost
9 Feb 2002

VIDYUT KUMAR TA,TNN
TIMES OF INDIA




miramar: the konkani film industry suffers from lack of funds as well as encouragement. of the various media to reach out to the masses - drama, photography, poetry, short story, the novel - films have lagged behind. konkani poetry, the short story and novel have also failed to reach the masses. society likes to see its reflection, and goa's society has to be content with theatre. this is the only medium which has managed to settle down in goa over the last 25 years, while hanging on to its literary character. today, konkani films are trying to establish a link with goa. though goa has fantastic locales, these are only exploited by film makers from other states. language films from other south indian states have thrived, engraving their place in millions of hearts, marathi writer shridhar nene told the times of india . so far, hardly a dozen konkani films have gone on celluloid. in 1997, a state-level film festival was held in goa for the first time, but with the big silver screen missing, it turned into a video festival. but the effort was not wasted - the first prize-winning film of the festival did reach the national hook-up and via cd technology, received sub-titles in 12 languages, said dyanesh moghe, a goan film producer. moghe started out as a teacher in drama school and later, moved on to konkani films. he is all set to make a niche for himself after the release of his latest konkani movie kanteantlem ful , which means `flower of thorns'. the film has been produced by arnaldo d'costa and directed by moghe at a total cost of rs 20 lakh. filmdom now is very different from in the late 60s, when a whole lot of youth, actors, directors and technicians had unexpectedly swooped down on mumbai. it was a time when superstar like rajesh khanna and several kumars reigned, leading film-makers were content to churn out trash which the simple and ignorant millions lapped up. then, it was like opium, some heady intoxicating wine, but now audiences are more discerning, said moghe. the handful of konkani film makers are on an experimental tour, and have to redefine genuine movies for the masses, he added. film festivals are encouraging and makes directors and producers aware of film making, but basically, production needs a lot of capital for which arrangements have to be made, he said. the goa government does not have any plans to give grants to the industry, like the system prevailing in maharashtra and other states, he rued. in karnataka, special facilities are given for making regional films by which konkani films get some occasional benefit. beyond this, nothing happens on the konkan fora. occasionally, an individual in his private capacity picks up courage to enthusiastically produce a film on his own like moghe, and lives to repent it after sustaining heavy losses. in goa, none comes forward to rescue him. it's a tragedy that the konkani forum has not yet recognised that films are essential for the development of the language. it is absolutely necessary that we look at this medium more seriously, so as to keep the konkani masses glued to the silver screen, nene said.

http://www.hummaa.com/albumpage.php?pg=ja&lg=13&lc=albums&md=24662&ps=0

IFFI should promote the Konkani cause

IFFI should promote the Konkani cause




Ethel da Costa


IFFI = International Film Festival of India

Has the dust already settled nice and proper on the IFFI? Have we all finished with what we have to say? Are the home grown `experts’ taking a siesta break like good unaffected Goenkars, since their murmurs have been brushed under the carpet anyway and people loose steam here so quickly (all bark, no bite). It hasn’t finished for me yet, simply because I can’t remember the last time I took a siesta nap. The bite is always so alluring.

All the flutter notwithstanding, a little thought grew upon me during the weekend, even as I contemplated if the frogs in our backyard had migrated elsewhere, given their total silence this monsoon. I got out of town, drove into the villages, enjoyed the hospitality of a close friend and his lively family and found the frogs silent there too, except for a lone croak or two. My host brushed aside the ban on frog hunting as baseless, since a law on paper remains toothless unless implemented with seriousness. The merry frog hunting parties are still on.

While silence is good for the soul and the jawbone to de-stress from the rattle race, I don’t accept it when priorities get compromised through bullying tactics and noise is needed to balance out the equations. I’m irked that there has been total silence from all Goans, otherwise thumping their chest and having me believe in their Goan-ness (some faking it for self promotion too these days) on a very relevant core issue. While we have discussed how Goa should set about wooing Hollywood and Bollywood to our sunny beaches, has anyone asked how the IFFI would serve the cause of the Goan tiatrist and the Konkani film industry itself, struggling to make its voice and presence felt to an audience, in the total absence of government support? I should think this question would reign prime in the local context, since we’re all excited about inviting the world to our doorstep, while thumbing down the local arts with the stepmotherly cold shoulder.

I’m baffled why there hasn’t been a single representation, in print or in person, in body or in spirit, asking the government how the IFFI would benefit the Konkani film industry and the popular tiatr, given its 100-year-old illustrious history glorified through its many talented sons and daughters. So since there aren’t any ruffles yet, let’s stir this nest a bit.

For years, I have watched this community going about their daily business. Not that I have been an ardent tiatr fan, but thankful nevertheless to the fact that my folks did introduce me to this amazing form of theatre, even if for its pure entertainment value. I remember enjoying many a good laugh, over dialogue and costume, and coming back home thoroughly content for having provided me with a glimpse of a quaint culture. Till a few years later, and many interactions with this community, made me realise that there was something much deeper at work here. Here’s a community struggling to hold on to a theatre form, not only for the sake of talent (and there is much rich talent here), but because of their kinship with their mother tongue – the Konkani language. The sole factor that binds every tiartist together to the soil, the village they come from and the relationship they share with each other, despite their differences. There is great pride in their vocation, and great sorrow too. I have yet to meet a tiatrist, however amateur, who has not spoken to me about his role as an ambassador of the language, without a tinge of regret. For given its 100 odd illustrious history, this form of theatre has yet to be granted its deserving pedestal amongst the art forms of the country, and yes, Goa too.

For too long I have seen tiatr sidelined as simply an art form meant for the masses. Ditto with Konkani films. The classes snoot down its existence, and the ruling classes think of them as mere entertainment value – a few laughs, shoddy acting, a few potshots at the local MLA or policemen, double innuendo jokes, plagiarized tunes and complete paisa vasool. I grew up thinking the same too, and this is as honest as I can get, until I sat down patiently at a local `zagor’ and watched two hours of direct audience participation with the actors on stage, highlighting local social issues of biases, bribes and acts of corruption by public serving officials, through their songs and script. This experience was the first of many more to follow. Of course, tiatr is plagued by acts of commercialisation too, for the simple reason that the industry is not organised or uniform in process or thought. Despite it all, great actors and actresses have time and again proved their mettle in this medium, some going down as unsung heroes, some trumpeted for no reason at all. Of course, there is much that can be done to ensure their right in Konkani’s `Hall of Fame,’ but that’s not my point here. My point is simple: Given the expectations of a world class event coming to our shores, what can the IFFI do to boost the sagging morales of this home-grown, cash starved industry, once having known to produce unforgettable classics like Bhoglant, Amche Noxib, Nirmonn, Buyaranthlo Munis or Mhoji Ghorkarn. I can’t remember any recent ones (though I am told there are some), simply because they haven’t been given the due publicity efforts like these deserve, however small (even gory adult movies get better public ad space these days). And if these movies are screened, why don’t the local theatres premier them with the fanfare they deserve? Is the Konkani film industry devoid of vision, or are the Konkani tiatrists too busy making their own money to take forth their natural evolvement from stage to screen seriously?

It is true that the Marathi industry enjoys a finer platform and audience on stage and screen, in Goa and Mumbai. It is true that this medium has been putting forth an organised effort to make their stand amongst the local regional languages of the country. And they have succeeded. So, what then ails the Konkani film industry, given the notion that the stage form has succeeded to achieve some semblance of structure. It can’t be a dearth of talent or lack of scripts. Some of Bollywood’s best musicians have been Goans, directors and producers of Goan origin making their mark too. And money can always be raised, if the efforts come with good intentions. I believe it is the Konkani industry’s lack of unified vision and the girth to combine into a driving force, that can give them the direction they need to build their resources and demand treatment as equals. The Marathi film industry shared a similar genesis and see where they have reached.

If the IFFI means serious business, then so should the Konkani stage brethren. They should take advantage of this opportunity and ask the government to mouth their cause too. If we are going to promote international films in Goa, why not support Konkani films too? Why not provide the funds needed to build upon this industry that has till now survived on private funds scrapped from generous pockets. Every state has their own regional film industry, isn’t it time Goa boasted her own? Especially at the rate people are so attuned to making mountains out of molehills, we’ll never ever face the scrunch of good scriptwriters. What did they say about life being a stage?



Ethel da Costa
June 28, 2003
THE GOAN FORUM

FATHER OF KONKANI FILMS 'AMCHEM NOXIB', 'NIRMONN' FRANK FERNAND

FATHER OF KONKANI FILMS 'AMCHEM NOXIB', 'NIRMONN' FRANK FERNAND NO MORE

By Isidore Dantas
isidordantas at yahoo.co.in

Frank Fernand, the producer and music director of epoch
making Konkani films Amchem Noxib and Nirmonn, breathed his
last at the age of 87 in Mumbai on April 1, 2007 and was
buried the next day at a quiet funeral at Dadar. He is
survived by his wife Maggie, daughters Elfin, Doris, Larissa
and son Max. Many Goan musicians have made it big in Hindi
films, of whom Frank Fernand is one.

Frank Fernandes, popularly known as Frank Fernand, was born
on May 3, 1919 and hails from Curchorem, a small and dusty
mining town and railway station now in the district of South
Goa. He was baptized by the saintly priest Fr. Agnelo de
Souza.

Fernand received his initial training in music at the hands
of the local maestro Diogo Rodrigues, where he could master
violin and trumpet. In 1936, Frank migrated to Mumbai to join
Don Bosco's for studies. His first assignment in music was to
play at Green's Hotel and Taj Mahal Hotel under the
leadership of George Theodore, an East Indian, as the
community of Christians from the region of Bombay (Mumbai) is
known.

In 1942, he left Mumbai for Mussorie to play at Savoy Hotel
under the Rudy Cotton band. It is here that he got a good
opportunity to be a Jazz musician in his band. The same year
he had a brief stint in New Delhi.

Fernand is indebted to our statesman and India's first Prime
Minister the late Jawaharlal Nehru for his Biography and
Discovery of India, which completely changed his outlook. He
considers Nehru to be the great Son of India and is grateful
to him for the orchestration of the National Anthem Jana Gana
Mana. A true patriot, Frank commemorated August 15 as the
biggest event every year.

In 1946, he set for Mumbai to participate in Mickey Correia's
band. The year 1948 saw him joining the film industry as a
musician to the popular music duo, Shankar-Jaikishan. He
proudly recalled his association with the success of
R.K.Films' Raj Kapoor's super hit 'Barsat'. He has had the
privilege to work under the music directors of repute. These
include Kishore Kumar. C.R.Ramchandra, Roshan, and Anil
Biswas.

His last assignment with Kalyanji-Anandji as his first
assistant is fondly remembered by the Hindi Film music
community. He has excelled in musical arrangement for these
film music directors.

In the footsteps of the end of colonial Portuguese rule in
Goa, in keeping with the immense love he had for Konkani and
with the vast knowledge of film craft in his possession, he
launched his first Konkani film 'Amchem Noxib' under the
banner of Frank Films (Goa).

It starred C. Alvares and Anthony Mendes in the main roles.
Apart from being its producer, the film had melodious music
composed by him. This film has cast a magic spell on the
spectators and its immense popularity has brought him
adulation and draws large crowds even today whenever and
wherever it is released.

Some time back, he expressed his gratitude for the patronage
received for this first film, which boosted his enthusiasm.
However, he regretted that Portuguese- and English-speaking
Goans did not appreciate the film and called it cheap.

To counteract this criticism, he produced his second film,
'Nirmonn' based on Lord Tennyson's character Enoch Arden, for
which he set music in his own style. This film had a powerful
story and bagged the Certificate of Merit for regional films,
the first of its kind for Konkani, at the hands of the then
Prime Minister, the late Indira Gandhi.

This film had memorable performance by C. Alvares, Shalini,
Anthony D'Sa and Jacinto Vaz. The lyrics and scenes have been
beautifully captured on mementoes of the films.

'Nirmonn' was remade into Hindi and was entitled 'Taqdeer'
and was directed by A. Salam with Shalini in the lead role.

Besides these two films, Frank has also provide the musical
score to the Konkani film 'Mhoji Ghorkarn' directed by A.
Salam with Shalini, C.Alvares and Jacinto Vaz in the main
leads.

With the success of the two Konkani films, Frank ventured to
produce a Hindi film in 1965 entitled 'Priya', starring
Sanjeev Kumar and Tanuja with music by Kalyanji-Anandji. This
film flopped because it was considered an art film by the
audience and not a commercial one.

Not loosing heart, Frank again attempted to produce another
Hindi film 'Ahat' starring Dr. Shriram Lagoo, Jaya Bahaduri,
Vinod Mehra. 'Ahat' inspired by the popular English film
'Wait Until Dark' was made under the banner of Vishal
Gomantak Films with screenplay by G.D.Madgulkar, Kishore Rege
as director and music by himself. The film was over-budgeted
and could not be released because the distributor was
arrested under COFEPOSA. The film has not seen the light of
the day.

Frank has set music to the lyrics of the popular Konkani poet
Dr Manohar Sardesai's 'Fulam Zai', 'Sobit Amchem Goem', for
HMV Recording Co for which he bagged the Bombay Journal
Award. Cine Musicians has honoured him as founder and he was
bestowed the Goan Review Award. His contribution can also be
seen on Konkani discs, for which he has provided musical
score. He has also staged tiatr entitled 'Bekar Patrao' in
the eighties with first time introduction of a ten-piece
orchestra.

He was the first to play classical as Jazz player, and
Trumpet Concheto by Handel under the music maestro Victor
Paranjoti. Audience still remember the concert he organized
in 1958 where he played Evolution of Music, Jazz, starting
with Negro Spirituals, Dixie Land Jazz followed by New
Orleans Jazz, Sound of America commercial music, Symphony
Jazz and Ravi Shankar's Caravan. Frank was suffering from the
dreaded Parkinson's disease since 1985.

(April 2, 2007)

Konkani film "SAVALEE"

New Konkani Film ' SAVALEE' Shooting at Campal


Now, what is Savalee ? Could it be 'Shadow'?
If so, in Roman konkani Lipi/Script it would be 'Savlli' oR 'Saulli'

It's a bi-lingual film (simultaneously shot/Dubbed in Marathi/Konkani)

open this...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joegoauk/217815688/

and then click on the link below the pic for larger view



Joegoauk at yahoo.co.uk

for Goa & NRI related info...
http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/GOAN-NRI/

Konkani Songs, Goan Photos, Tiatr/Film VCDs, Bank interest rates etc etc
(for updates etc click below)
http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/GOAN-NRI/files/

Shadows of Time

Namita Nivas
Posted online: Friday, January 19, 2007 at 0000 hours IST

Shivendu Aggarwal’s musical-film Savalee bagged the Screen award this year. The elated first-time producer talks about his film which is based on a mother-daughter relationship ...

Savalee is your first film and you have bagged an award for it. How does it feel?
Well, it feels great. I only wish my father was alive to see me get the award. I am happy he saw my debut venture before he passed away recently. I want to thank God, my mother and all my friends specially my best friends Dr Akhil Parulkar and Dr Sujay Dangi and colleagues for all their support. But most of all I want to thank my director Rajendra Talak.

GD Aggarwal, your father, was a producer of Hindi films. Why then did you opt to make a Marathi-Konkani bilingual? Are you familiar with the language?
Way back in the late ‘40s, my father helped launch the career of BR Chopra. They made over four films together. Since we have been out of touch with the industry for a long time, I wanted to make a sensible, well-budgeted film. I did not want to play with money and make some senseless, run-of--the-mill kind of film.

To be honest, I understand Marathi as it was the first language that I learnt as a kid since the domestic help at home was a Maharashtrian. But as I grew up and she left us, I lost touch. Now I don’t speak it at all. I think creativity and the medium of film crosses the boundary of language. The visual medium is so strong that whatever the language, a good film can touch any heart and mind.

Does the film deal with the mother-daughter relationship or is it about the guru-shishya parampara?
It depends on how you look at it. I think it is a bit of both. The mother in the film is also the guru.



It sounds so much like the Shabana Azmi-film Saaz in Hindi.
I have heard the name of the film. I have not seen it though. I have no idea about its storyline. But with Shabana Azmi in it, I am sure it must have been a great film. She is a brilliant actor and a very kind person.

Your film is based on music. Why have you titled it Savalee?
Savalee means shadow. My film emphasises on the fact that one cannot reach his/her true potential under the shadow of a famous parent, just like a small plant in the shadow of a big tree cannot reach its full growth. The film relates to the relationship of the daughter with her mother, who is a very well-known classical singer, and the girl who wants to create her own identity, and that too quickly.

Why did you select Rajendra Talak to direct your film?
When I met Rajan through a friend, he narrated a story that he was planning to make in Konkani. Since I liked the narration, I encouraged and literally forced him to make it in Marathi as well. I had seen his first film, Ayeesha in Konkani in bits and pieces. I was enamoured by his shot-taking and the placement of the characters. In five minutes, I decided I would go ahead and make the film with Rajan as the director. And here we are. My first film, his first Marathi film and my first award.

Since it is a music-based film, what made you opt for Ashok Patki as composer?
What can I say about Patki-saab? He is brilliant. I am more than satisfied with his music and I will continue to work with him. He is a very humble person. The classical songs in the film are in Hindi and the pop songs in Marathi. Savalee has the right mix of both classical and pop music. Good, sensible, evergreen music - that’s what we have tried to give the audience.

For a newcomer, how did you manage to get the famous Debu Deodhar to do camerawork for your film?
There is one thing that I must say here and that is, I only work with people who are down-to-earth and humble and not with someone who has a chip on his shoulder. Debu Deodhar is not only a very humble but a very caring man. I have a lot to learn from him. He is a great cinematographer.

And why did you think of Reema for the role of the mother?
The day I saw the first trial of the film, I hugged Reema. As far as I am concerned, she is one of the most expressive and brilliant actor the industry has today. I really wish she had won the Best Actor Award for the film. Reema has performed beyond anyone’s expectations in this film. I look forward to working with her again, and soon.

Was it easy for you to convince Amruta Subhash to play this role?
Amruta has been cast in the film only because she is talented. She has no airs and is a very down-to-earth and straightforward person who is always laughing and enjoying herself. That is what I like about her. Rajan had no problems convincing her to act in the film, as far as I know.

Tell me more about the film and the cast.
The role of the father is a very important and balancing factor in the film. Pradeep Welankar has done a great job as the father. Urmila Kanetkar, another good actor, has also performed very well. Swapnil will grow as an actor in time to come. He, of course, is a good singer as well.

How long did it take to complete the film?
Savalee was completed in one-long shooting schedule of 34 days. And as a first-time producer, surprisingly, it was a very smooth-sailing experience for me. I enjoyed my job and plan to continue making more films.

Before getting to making films, in what profession have you been busy?
I am the director and CEO of NEIF Ltd, a 58-year-old media company which was founded by my father. We distribute multimedia training aids on Safety, Management, Technical and Police Training subjects throughout India which have been produced from the world over. We also sell these educational material for broadcasting on different channels. We have also been producing short management films. Seeing the world’s best short films has given me great exposure to great work and talent of some of the best producers and directors from the world over.

Coming back to films, now that you have a winner on hand, what are your further plans as far as films are considered?
I am grateful to all the jury members of Screen for giving me this award. I will continue to make sensible, intelligent films that touch the heart. The script is the essence of any good film. I am working on two ideas with which I want to go on the floors. One is a period film with the 1971 war with Pakistan as the backdrop and stretches from 1947 to the present time. I am looking for a new girl for the film and may either direct it or co-direct it. Again it’s more a woman-based film. It’ll be a bi-lingual again; hopefully Hindi and English this time. I don’t really think that the language a film is made in is important as long as it touches the heart of people. It is the visual medium which is very powerful.

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