On January 21, 2023, Goa Arts and Literature Festival (GALF), which was held at the International Centre Goa, Dona Paula, had a series of conversations with various artists.
One of the conversations that took place was on the topic “Cinema and Identity” with famous Konkani filmmaker and National Award winner Bardroy Barretto, related to his film Nachom-ia Kumpasar.
The conversation was anchored by Mehul Devkala, a poet and filmmaker himself. Bardroy Barretto went into the nitty gritty of the making of his masterpiece, Nachom-ia Kumpasar.
He mentioned it is set in the old Goa, before media came into play, before modern times. Bardroy is yet to explore the modern idea of Goa and utilise it in his next film.
Initially interested in photography, Bardroy Barretto’s attention was later steered towards cinematography, which led him to become a filmmaker.
Bardroy’s idea was to create a perception of Konkani films that would encourage the generation of more Konkani films without focusing on the commercial aspect of it.
In explaining people’s inclination to connect with cultural movies, Bardroy said a movie with a good storyline would interest anybody. He said, “You have to be honest with the facts about your culture to create a good story.”
That was what he did while scripting Nachom-ia Kumpasar. He broke down the perception that everyone has about Goans. He said, “In Goa, not all are drunkards.” While Goans do consume alcohol, the drunkard is a rare phenomenon.
Basically, cultural films are created to remove the misconception about a particular culture.
When talking about identity in these changing times, Bardroy said since Goa is not a film state as such, it does not have much documentation from the past. Therefore, when one makes films on Goa’s past, it will stay documented for future generations to know about its heritage.
He further added that even the next film he is thinking about is going to be on the same lines of heritage and entertainment.
Bardroy Barretto hopes that others will create more cultural films and more honest stories.
There are many reasons for him to make a Konkani film as it documents a way of life or creates culture. The film should stay as honest as his film Nachom-ia Kumpasar. It may not be as successful, but it definitely has to be honest.
