Cinema
for children forms an integral part of overall cinema. Understanding
this, Konkani now has its first children’s feature film, ‘Aaa
Vai Jaa Saa’.
The film
is concerned with the holistic development and progress of the new
generation.
Directed
by Dr Ramesh Kamath, a graduate from the Film and Television
Institute of India (FTII), Pune,
and produced under the banner of Film India Productions, the film
will premiere today,
July 2, 2016,
at the Konkani Sammelan 2016 at Atlanta, Georgia, USA. “The
title of the film comprises four elements.
‘Aaa’ for ‘Aaadhyatmik’
or spiritual, ‘Vai’ for ‘Vaignanik’
or scientific, ‘Jaa’ for ‘Jaatyateeth’
or secular and ‘Saa’ for ‘Saamajik’
or social obligation. The idea behind the film is to motivate
children to use these values in their life. The cast and crew of the
film come from the four Konkani speaking states of India,
namely, Goa,
Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala,” says Dr Ramesh Kamath from
Bangalore.
He
further adds, “The film very devotedly and aptly undertakes the
serious task of divulging the dire need for spiritual, social,
cultural as also collective growth and progress of the
youth.
Every nuance of film making is adopted to make it incredibly
informative, educative as also entertaining. The film ensures that
children
are taken to their roots to make them resolute,
equipping them
with the wings of knowledge to make them fly and grow up as strong,
honest and confident citizens of this great country.”
Atharva
and Kamakshi Kamat, the children
of Ajit and Smitha Kamat from Merces,
have also participated in this film. The film tells the story of four
children coming from different religions
who
find comfort in each other’s company while learning a lot from
their elders.
“The
film has different elements like ‘Vedamurthy Chempi show’,
Ramachandra Bhat’s ‘Gindi dance’, Kogga Kamath’s ‘Puppetry’
and ‘Yakshagana’. We
have
over 45 artistes
performing
and we’ve used Konkani
dialects from Karnataka, Kerala, Maharastra and Goa. The four leading
child artistes include Sarthak Shenoy, Shreyas Kamath, Samarth Shenoy
and Spandana Pai,” says Dr Ramesh.
“Konkani
is a sweet language and it is spoken only in these four states. I
tried to bring in the beauty of the language in one film. There are
English subtitles as I didn’t want the film to be restricted to
only the
Konkani
speaking population.
I am glad that it is
premiering
at the Konkani Sammelan,
which is a
three-day
festival celebrating Konkani that
is also
attended by Americans,”
he adds. The Konkani Sammelan is being organised by
the not-for-profit organisation,
NAKA (North American Konkani Association),
and is
expected to be attended by 2,500
Konkani delegates.
Dr
Ramesh was the former Director of Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium,
Bangalore and has written many Konkani books
including ‘Bharath Puracho Bharath Masthar’ published by Kerala
Konkani Academy. In 1980, he produced and directed the very first
Saraswath Konkani movie ‘Jana Mana’. “It was the first Konkani
movie to be telecast nationally
on Dooradarshan.
It ran for two weeks in the biggest cinema hall of Mangalore.
Then
100 days in Dakshina Kannada, 100 days in Kerala and 50 days in
Uttara Kannada district. Now, I am 65 years old and I’m
hoping to break my
own record as I expect this film to be a bigger hit wherever it is
screened. I will be submitting the film for the International Film
Festival of India as well,” says Dr Ramesh, who worked as associate
director with national-award winning film director late P Lankesh in
all his films.
With
the runtime
of
80 minutes, the film will be screened free of cost for the viewers.
“I want the film to reach as
many people as possible
and I am planning shows in Goa after I return from the USA. The film
will inspire the younger generation of the Konkani community,”
concludes Dr Ramesh.
