Homi Adajania’s English-Hindi film ‘Finding Fanny’ is generating an
interest far beyond its celluloid potential.
Shot in lesser known film locales in Goa like the Lisbon House at
Assagao; Siolim bridge; Three King’s Church Cansaulim; St Jacinto Bridge and
Divar Island, the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) has roped in the
film to be a part of its brand activation campaign, which was started several
months ago. “We are piggybacking on this
film to popularize Goa. We had a similar association in 2001 with ‘Dil Chahta
Hai’. It was a television campaign and we had an almost 20 per cent increase in
tourist footfalls. Also the destinations shown in that movie became popular
overnight,” affirms GTDC Managing Director, Nikhil Desai.
Hoping to promote Goa as a ‘land of contrasts’ compared to its’ hitherto
‘sand and sun’ quotient only, the tie-up is intended to tap the large domestic
market. “The movie has been shot more in
the hinterlands and places that have not been featured in films before. Hence
there will be a lot of interest generated in these places. The Goa Tourism dynamic
logo (the third of its kind in the world) will be a part of the film promotions.
Since the international market is on the down-slide now, we are keen to tap the
large domestic market,” explains Nilesh Cabral, Chairman GTDC.
With the story based on Goan characters, the inevitable question about an
authentic portrayal of Goans arises.
“What is the Goaness of a Goan? Has this ever been analysed?” queries
one of Goa’s best known film critics, writer and professor, Les Menezes who
also played a small role in Finding Fanny.
“Without anybody knowing or researching this, Goans are invariably
typecast as drunks and aunties in Bollywood,” he maintains.
With hopes riding on Finding Fanny being a more of an authentic
portrayal of Goans as possible, writer Mario Coelho is however miffed at the
fact that Goans are invariably stereotyped.
“They take no trouble to authenticate either the pronunciation or
spellings of the names and language. Is this so difficult to achieve?’ he
asks. “However, with Finding Fanny we
are hoping that things will be different since we had a Goan writer, Cecil
Pinto, on board who has helped them to authenticate the script and guided them
in many aspects.”
Sceptical about the whole ‘stereotyping’ grouse, Cecil Pinto however
maintains that this has been overblown.
“In Finding Fanny there are all Goan Catholic characters who lead their
normal ‘Goan’ lives. Their quirks and twist in the tale are intrinsic to any
story,” he reasons.
In the process of Ferdie finding his Fanny, it is hoped that Goa finds a
true representation in a film that has been roped to be its brand ambassador.
