22 Oct 2020  |   04:50am IST

Calangute boy’s film now a major draw in India’s premier short film festival

Tagore Almeida a Goan filmmaker from Goa and now based in Singapore has his film Uss Din being screened on a major short film festival online. The film which was first screened at the Artivist Film Festival, i.e the United Nations Film festival. Starring a young Raj Kumar Rao, the film resonates in today’s India as it showcases love and peace against hatred and religious conflict. He took time off from his work in Singapore to speak to Cafe, where he also doffs his cap at talented Goan musicians and filmmakers
Calangute boy’s film now a major draw in India’s premier short film festival

Ajit John

He is perhaps one of the more interesting filmmakers to have emerged out of Goa. A man with a distinctive name and an interesting style of treating issues, Tagore Almeida left Goa at fifteen to study in London.  A resident of Agar Waddo in Calangute his father Romeo Almeida was a journalist in his youth and was a big fan of Rabindranath Tagore.  He travelled and worked in Dubai and is now settled in Singapore. His movie A God of Sinners was screened in prestigious film festivals like Cannes and Los Angeles to name just two. His film named USS Din is now being screened on the Royal Stag Barrel select- Large Short films, a major and acclaimed platform for short films in India. 

The film which was first screened at the Artivist Film Festival which is the United Nations Film festival in 2009 is now being released to the general public online in 2020.  The reason for the delay Tagore said was they had tried to be part of the Aman Ki Asha movement between India and Pakistan but it seemed both the parties did not have an appetite for the film. 

The film stars a very young Rajkumar Rao and it is a matter of relief for a filmmaker who waited ten years for it to be released. The movie is the story of two boys caught in the middle of a brutal conflict that plagues their families. The protagonists in the film are from two different religions who are stopped from meeting each other when their families turn hostile.  Tagore believes strongly in the principle of promoting peace, love and tolerance in the world. He believes in one world, one faith, one race, one colour just a different face and that is a philosophy that permeates all his actions.  

Asked how he managed the release, Tagore said it was a lot easier than imagined. He said “I have friends who during the course of our regular Whatsapp calls suggested I call them. I was given a contact at Royal Stag and spoke to them and emailed a link. A week later I asked if they were interested and they confirmed their interest. This was November 2019. By January 2020 I had money in my account. They took eight months to map to release. They had a marketing plan, they do it very well. They do a lot of their promotions online. Their entire target audience is online. Most filmmakers will not admit to this but if they spend Rs 40 crore then Rs 10 crore is kept aside for promoting it online. The game has certainly changed. I don’t think about cinema halls anymore.” 

Tagore may have lived out of Goa for more than thirty years but its ethos still runs strong in him. Speaking about Goans he said “ 

There is no doubt that we are talented surely musically. 

Look at our ecosystem, literally, every village will have a few musicians in them. We have a tremendous and impressive lineage of great musicians such as Chris Perry, Anthony D’Souza and so forth to the present day Vince Costa and of course our dear Remo. Remo represented India at a world music festival in Germany and won the critics award. My true Goan music export to my friends over the world has been India Beyond, and Old Goan Gold – both by Remo. 

Recently I came across Saint and Sinner by Vince Costa that blew my mind”. In terms of filmmakers he said one had to only look at Swapnil Shetkar, 

Bardroy Barretto’s great revival of Konkani cinema, Milroy Goes and his film that went on the festival circuit. .  He said Goa had artists with rare vision who had to be encouraged. 

He should have his 

first novel The Emperor Cried out before Christmas and next year a small booklet of verses called The Goan Who Sold His Feni will be released. Speaking in greater detail about his plans for the future he said he wanted to do something on his late father’s work or perhaps work on an adaptation of a Shakespeare piece, in Konkani. He said he did not know many filmmakers personally in Goa but Milroy who was a FB friend was very helpful. Tagore said “ I am not sure yet what this project will be but there will be one in honour of Agar vaddo, Goa and above all for my amazing parents and family”. 

He ended by saying that wherever he went Goa always went with him. Its values, the simplicity, the essence of celebrating all the festivals and this were something he would never forget.  

 

IDhar UDHAR

Idhar Udhar