Dolcy D’Cruz
An international award-winning actress, Prashanti Talpankar is the one who shines on the screen but hides from the limelight. However, her films have always highlighted a pressing social issues at affects Goans and the world at large. Films by four Goan directors, recipients of national and international accolades, will be showcased at the ‘Prashanti Film Fest’ at ManoShobha Kalaghar in Loliem, Canacona from May 14 to 17. The festival is open to all and will commence at 6:30 pm each day. Prashanti Talpankar is an Indian writer, translator, playwright, and actor. She begun her acting career right from the theatre stage as a college student and then made her film debut in 1994. “I got my first film in 1994, a Hindi film called ‘Kabhi Paas Kabhi Fail’ by Saini Production.
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The story was by Saeed Mirza, a well known writer and that was a great opportunity to meet Saeed Mirza and discuss writing him,” reminesces Prashanti. With over three decades of acting, she puts her heart and soul into the characters that she potrays on screen. This is proven as Prashanti is the first Goan actor to receive two awards at international film festivals. She appears in a lead or supporting role in all four films that will be screened at this festival. Prior to this festival, Victor D’Mello Community Centre celebrated Konkani Cinema Day by screening three films featuring Prashanti followed by Question & Answer session with Prashanti and the directors of the films. What impressed Prashanti was that the films are more important than her as an actor. “I am very happy about this festival, ‘Prashanti Film Fest’. Earlier, I was bit hesitant because I don’t like to project myself a lot and I prefer to be in the background. But I realized that at Victor DMello Community Centre, Assagao, we had a screening of my films and there when people saw the films, they discussed about direction and storyline.
And there was no me and I felt that such stories which have been captured in movies should be discussed. When my husband Sandesh Prabhudesai said that let us have this type of screening at ManoShobha Kalaghar, I agreed. I feel that though it is named as Prasanthi’s film festival, we should look at it as films which are done by Goan directors, written by Goan directors and have achieved something at the national and international levels,” says Prashanti. The ‘Prashanti Film Fest’ will open on May 14 with the Konkani feature film ‘Amori’, directed by Dinesh Bhonsle, which received the National Award in 2019. The film highlights water conservation. ‘Baga Beach’, directed by international award winner Laxmikant Shetgaonkar and scheduled for screening on May 15 won the National Award in 2014. The film explores the adverse effects of beach tourism in Goa. ‘Juze’, a Konkani film by Miransha Naik, won the Special Jury Award at the Minsk International Film Festival in Belarus in 2017 and recently set a record by winning 14 awards at the Goa State Film Festival. Scheduled for screening on May 16, the film exposes the exploitation and social injustice experienced by vulnerable migrant labourers at the hands of a local slumlord. ‘Ancessao’, a Konkani short film by Manguirish Bandodkar, garnered two awards last year at the International Film Festival of South Asia in Toronto: Best Film and Best Actor for the lead role played by Prashanti Talpankar. The film portrays the loneliness, ageing, and mental health challenges faced by elderly Goan women living alone.
It will be screened on May 17. Each screening will be followed by an open discussion with the audience, moderated by young theatre artists from Canacona, Padma Bhat, Venkatrai Naik, Samyukta Pagi, and Prasad Pagi. “Mostly, I have been doing films which are related to a cause. I remember my first Konkani film that I have done was ‘Aleesha’ and it was talking about mining problems in Goa. Similarly, all the movies which I have done and now the four ones which will be screened, ‘Amori’ is about scarcity of water and how we are not maintaining our environment and ecology. ‘Baga Beach’ is about how tourism has affected coastlines and people of Goa. ‘Juze’ talks about interrelationship between Bhakkar and tenants and also how migrants are treated. ‘Ancessao’ is about a senior citizen who is lonely and because she has no other option, she just roams around trying to gossip,” informs Prashanti. On the concluding day, Prashanti Talpankar will be interviewed by Urvee Phaldesai, headmaster of Shri Nirakar High School, Mashem, “The interview will focus on the films and how I acquired this skill and etc,” concludes Prashanti.
