From countless views on YouTube, to millions of ‘shares’ and
‘likes’ on Facebook to endless ‘retweets’ on Twitter, everyone knows how to
gauge what’s trending. The latest big thing on the trending wagon, at least as
far as Goa is concerned, is the brainchild of Tushar Kamat, a 26 year-old
composer from Merces. His latest work, Hello Patrao, has flooded nearly every
device that has come in contact with Goan (and sometimes non-Goan) hands.
Speaking on the journey of the ‘Hello Patrao’ project, Tushar says, “For me, it all began with the concept of composing and producing original and independent Konkani music. My first steps in this direction were taken approximately two and a half years ago, when I worked on a song intended to entertain. I reworked a song and titled it ‘Kulyaacher Di’ which was in fact intended to be a Konkani tribute to the then popular track ‘Kolaveri Di’.”
As fate would have it, for the myriad positive responses he received, there were people who criticised Tushar, saying that he was merely piggybacking on an already existent hit song. Disheartened with the negative feedback, he stopped working within the Konkani music sphere. As he grew, Tushar moved into the Hindi film industry on a permanent basis and took up more artist related projects.
“I had ceased to think that I should have taken up other projects in addition to my Hindi music productions. However, having spent some time with co-musician Rabbi Shergill, he made me realise that I needed to produce something for my motherland Goa, in my mother tongue Konkani,” he says.
Having decided that the direction in which he wanted to go, Tushar needed to then focus on a topic that was close to his heart and yet not clichéd. The word ‘Patrao’ immediately came to mind. Explaining the ideology behind his choice, he says, “I dwelt on the uniqueness of the word ‘Patrao’ and how it unites Goan people across strata. With the idea firmly in place, I went on to meet Raghu Shetiye who coincidentally owns a real estate brand called ‘Hello Patrao’. I asked for his aid in funding the idea, as there was a similarity in the name of my song and his brand, which he instantly accepted. My friend and associate Ashish also helped in the conceptualisation of the idea of covering all sections of society in an attempt to depict unity among Goans.Similarly, I approached artist Bonny Alex for his input, who has played a majority of the instruments on the track. All contributions to this project have been invaluable.”
Having been released on Independence Day, the song has since gone viral, with Goans spread across the globe sharing it on Facebook and Whatsapp. What started out as a small contribution to the sphere of Konkani music appears to be a landmark that won’t soon be forgotten.