MONDAY, MAY 20, 2024
Ajit John
One of Goa’s greatest sons has a documentary made about him by the National broadcaster Doordarshan. Brahmanand Sankhwalkar, the former goalkeeper has a documentary called Famously Found @15 which will be released by the CM Pramod Sawant today. Directed by Savio Noronha, the documentary speaks to the important people that have marked Brahmanand Sleepwalker's professional life.
Savio, the director is a fan of the man. He said he still remembers as a teenager going off to see the matches of Brahmanand and coming away with great memories. The documentary, was one which involved his colleague and they planned a series of stories for international viewing. He said, “We were looking at personalities that had stories that were unparalleled and would remain examples to future generations. They started off with a documentary on Braz Gonsalves, the musical legend. The only saxophonist who has played for 70 years. After that we did one on Mario Miranda and then the Museum of Christian art and then Brahmanand. He comes automatically into the series because there is no one, he is in a league all his own. He has consistently played for 25 years. You need to have a strong mind and will power to achieve this. Like I said earlier, from my teenage days, I have watched his games and the moments he has given us are unforgettable. Some saves were out of this world”.
The documentary is 40 minutes long and covers 25 years. It started in 1970 when he was 15. His talent was first detected by Dr Remigio Pinto. His mentor was his father and his early coaching was done by his brothers, Vallabh, Gurudas and Ramesh. Savio said he managed to get through to two of them. His first break in a football team was given by Antonio Botelho, a sports administrator and owner of Panvel Sports Club. Savio said Antonia showed the gumption to put a 15 year old out on the field.
According to Savio, the young Brahamanand was an instant hit. In 1974 he captained Panvel Sports Club to the historic Bandodkar gold trophy. Having achieved this so early in his career, he captured the attention of major clubs around the country. But Salgoancar sports club secured his services. He played for them for 17 consecutive years winning tournaments like the Sait Nagjee, Rovers cup and the most prized in the country the Federation cup. During this tenure he went on to represent and captain India. He was declared AIFF player of the decade in 1985 and one of his proudest moments was to see Salgoancar crowned champion club of India. After Salgoancar he played for Churchill Brothers for 3 years and completed a glorious 25 years and then ended with Anderson Marine in his final year in competitive football. The documentary covers all these aspects of his life.
When asked what was his thinking behind the making of the documentary, Savio said, “He is without a doubt an all-time great and yes, one of my favourite footballers. His achievements are so inspiring I think a documentary fits in well. He can be a role model for footballers and young aspirants and this was also recognised by the Government of India with the Arjuna Award in 1998 and then of course the Padma Shri two years ago. What remains unparalleled is that he led Goa to two National Champion wins in 1983 and 1984.”
Savio said he learned a lot during the making of this documentary that was unknown to him. When Brahmanand went to Zambia, the locals, impressed by his performance under the bar, called him the leopard. Speaking of his first match Brahmanand said, it was unforgettable, since he played in oversized boots. He made paper balls and stuck them in his shoes and by his performance, he was able to impress Botelho. Since he was underage, Botelho had to take the signature of his father on the club contract. As part of Salgoancar, he was part of the only team to reach the finals in four consecutive years of the Federation cup. It was his dream to win the Rovers Cup, which he eventually won. He was also part of the squad that was crowned Champions Club of India. Despite having just recovered from an injury, he was selected for the Asian Games in 1982.
Another person featured in the documentary is Antonio Botelho. He smiled while speaking of those days. He said the young Brahmanand was just 16 and he needed to take his father’s permission for him to play in the team. Speaking about the first match, Antonio said, “A couple of days earlier my team was supposed to play a feast day match in Saligao. Both my goalkeepers could not come that day. Brahmanand elder brother, Vallabh who passed away last year, was a player in the team. He could also not come for the match. I complained that I was already without both the goalkeepers to which he said he would send his brother over.”
He added, “At the meeting place, there was this scrawny boy in shorts, who came holding a newspaper wrapped parcel. He asked me if I was Botelho. He then said he was Vallabh’s younger brother. I had my doubts whether he would be able to play senior level football but I took him anyway. As it happened, one of my two goalkeepers turned up for the match and I used him in the first half. In the second half, I used Brahmanand. He saved everything that was shot at him. The situation continued to the next league match. To register him, I had to take his father's permission. I remember two of my players walked out of the match because they said they could not play with this young goalkeeper. We played against Goa Shipyard and we beat them 6-3 for our first victory. We went on winning matches after that. The league was stopped. Four years later, Brahmanand took my team to the Bandodkar Trophy victory in the finals.” Antonio ended by saying those were really great days with players who were motivated and talented.
The script for the documentary was prepared by Marcus Mergulhao, the cinematography by Norman Fernandes and production guidance by Uday Kamat.
