Being a documentary film maker, means a passion for facts and the fine print. A tough job without doubt, one which needs a great deal of discipline. Nalini has that in spades. She is up at 6 o’clock and leaves for the gym. A fit body encases a fit mind. While she works out she thinks and plans her day ahead. This is her schedule everyday barring Sunday of course. She then makes it to the office, checks her emails and starts her day. This is her schedule till approximately 7. Like she says “there is no fixed schedule and it all depends on what I am working on.”
Born in Portugal but now making Goa her home since 1998, her tastes in food are decidedly European. She enjoys Goan cuisine but usually likes it very subtle. She is open to trying out new cuisines during her travels. She is open to anything and when she returns to Portugal she enjoys eating in the tiny restaurants that dot the landscape.
She was unable to remember the names but one that comes to mind is undoubtedly Tao and Horse shoe in Panjim. Her taste in music is rather eclectic. She likes classical western music and jazz. Be it Harry Connick Jr, Miles Davis, Eric Satie, Beethoven, Mozart, Elis Regina, Chico Buarque, Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso or Vinicius de Moraes she loves them all.
She says’ I grew up listening to them. They are forever part of my system”. She does not listen to present day music as much. A documentary film maker her tastes run in that direction. She loves watching documentaries and movies if based on history then she will certainly watch it. Movies based on the first and second world war are a favorite and her favorite director undoubtedly is that Spanish genius Pedro Almodovar. She does not like to watch movies with special effects. With regards to Indian movies she prefers to watch regional cinema rather than the general fare presented by Bollywood.
For someone who has made several documentaries, her ambition in the next five years would be to direct a full length movie based on fiction in English and Konkani. As one signed off on the phone one was left with the feeling of a person who lives her life on her terms with a smile.
