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.

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