On a sunny school day, imagine looking at a strong 15 year old boy posing for a photograph in his school uniform on the road across the campus. This was how a young boy actually signed up to be a part of a football club, who would later bring the Santosh Trophy to Goa, not once but twice. This is the story of Brahamanand Sankhwalkar from Taleigao that will be screened in the form of a documentary today, March 6. Doordarshan Goa has produced a series of ‘Stories & Documentaries’ on icons and iconic institutions from Goa from the fields of art, music, culture and sports. The inaugural documentary, ‘Famously Found @ 15’ will be screened on former India Captain, Padma Shri and Arjuna Awardee Brahmanand Shankwalkar, produced by Savio de Noronha. The screening will be held at 5 pm at Maquinez Palace, Audi – 1, ESG Complex, Panjim.
The occasion is even more special for Brahmanand as it is his 70th birthday and he believes that everything happens at the right time. A former Indian footballer and captain of the Indian team from 1983 to 1986, Brahmanand is considered one of India's best goalkeepers, with a career spanning over 25 years and the entire journey is beautifully encapsulated in ‘Famously Found @ 15’, a 42 minutes documentary.
DD Sports Producer and anchor Savio de Noronha and producer Uday Shridhar Kamat, have been working for over two years on different projects that are dear to Goans and cuts across different generations. Finally, the documentaries are ready to be shared and viewed with the world, with each one getting a slot every month. In the coming months, the documentaries are based on Goan personalities like Mario Miranda, Prasad Sawkar, Francisco Martins, Ramdas Kamat, Wendell Rodricks, Francisco Luis Gomes and F N Souza. Institutes like Museum of Christian Art and Naval Aviation Museum will also be featured in the series. The scriptwriters for the different documentaries are those who have be in sync with the subject like Marcus Mergulhao, a sports journalist who has scripted the film for Brahmanand.
The team behind the series includes Uday Kamat, project coordinator, Bambino Dias, production assistance, Norman Fernandes and Ian Noronha who worked on filming and editing. “Uday and I believe that Goa is a land of stories and from different walks of life, you will come across people who have accomplished greatness in music, arts, sports and other fields. Brahmanand became a legend because he played football for the state and country for 25 years. Our parents have watched him play and we have grown up watching him and the younger generation are also aware of him as he is still coaching children. He is a tall figure and also football is like second nature for Goans,” says Savio.
He further adds, “A turning point for Brahmanand, Goa’s football and India’s football was when he was signed for the club outside Progress High School, Panjim in 1970. Antonio Bothelo wanted a photograph and signature of Brahmanand very urgently to join the Panvel Football Club. He took permission from the principal and took him out of the class and clicked his photo. He is the same player who later rose to be the captain that took the team to the Bandodkar Gold Trophy victory in three years.” Following this public screening of the documentary, it will be telecasted on DD Sports and then uploaded on Doordarshan’s YouTube channel.
With very rare film footage available in Goa, it is a real challenge to delve into Goan events and history on film. However, Savio relied heavily upon photographs for this documentary. “Documentaries are very exciting as you have to dig into the past for a better future, especially uncovering facts that are unknown. We worked on documentaries simultaneously with bytes from people who will give more information. We got bytes from Mario Miranda’s son, Rishaad de Miranda, a few months before he passed away. We also got relevant footage to go along with the narrative. Most footballers from Bardez, would meet at Neelam Hotel in Betim before taking the ferry to Panjim, so we showed the visuals of Neelam Hotel too,” explains Savio.
He adds, “We also have a byte from an 85 year old Lorna and Chris Perry fan who attended their performance in Bombay and the next day, he went from Bandra to Church Gate and got the last LP. He even showed me the LP, a fifty year old record.”
For the documentary on Brahmanand, Savio had to reconnect with the players of the 1970s and 80s who shared the field with Brahmanand. “He has played for 70 games for India’s first 11 and you need longevity, physical fitness and mental strength to have a consistent 25 year old career in football. Brahmanand started playing with Panvel Sports Club for three years, followed by Salgaonkar Football Club for 17 years, three years with Churchill Brothers and finally with Anderson Marine in Chicalim before retiring from football in 1995. The first year they won the Santosh Trophy was a challenge as they were facing nine international players in the Bengal team. Yet, they shared the trophy that year as joint winners, allowing Goa to have the trophy for the first six months. However, the next year in 1984, Goa won the trophy. We also took bytes from Francis D’Souza who was the first Goan footballer who went professional in Calcutta and Abul Hassam Khoshgavar, an Iranian footballer who consistently played alongside Brahamanand in all the different clubs,” he says.
However, Brahmanand did make the work easier for the team. “He is a documenter par excellence. He has a passion for the game, on field and off field. He made the documentary easier. We had to search for footage in Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata as the footage dates back 40 years. Brahamanand had carefully collected all the material over the years with photographs and newspaper clippings. We had to rely highly on stills,” says Savio.
This quality of film would not have been possible a decade ago but with the power of technology, these documentaries can be viewed with great clarity even in the future, “We had the voice of RJ Anarita, who has a very sporty paced voice and is in sync with the sports documentary. The cameras are also high definition and we have worked with better technology and the quality of the production is also great,” Savio says.
Brahmanand is excited for the doubly special day and his joy can be easily noticed on his smiling face. “Everything comes on a good day and God has planned everything well. I believe that everything happen at the right time. Every footballer will have a great origin story especially in Goa. It takes a lot of sacrifice and facing challenges but it’s the passion that take you ahead. And even when you feel down and can’t draw on your passion, it is the support of your loved ones that is very important,” says Brahmanand.
Reminiscing about his childhood, he remembers his father, his first coach, Sagun, very fondly. “Even silence has an impact. My father was a man of very few words. He would not talk much with us and he would say just two words for us to study for our SSCE examinations. He never pressured us. I had the opportunity to play football and I took it. Life should be enjoyed to the fullest. There is no point in thinking over lost chances. You should grab them at the right time.
One should also take great care and protect their body while playing the sport,” concludes Brahmanand, who lives with his wife Shobha and daughters, Vaishnavi and Vatsala in Taleigao.