The 62nd National Film Awards were
announced in a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday. At the conference
addressed by Jury Chairpersons Bharathiraja and Kamal Swaroop, Goan film
Nachom-ia Kumpasar brought laurels to the state of Goa by winning three National
awards. The creation of Bardroy Barretto, a Mumbai-based advertisement producer
with roots in Canacona, has won the National award for Best Production Design (Aparna
Raina), Best Konkani Film and special mention along with other films like Killa
(Marathi), Bhootnath Returns (Hindi) and Ain (Malayalam).
Through its storyline, Nachom-ia Kumpasar
uses 20 outstanding Konkani songs to create a narrative with a Goan lilt that
conveys a nostalgic tale, one that is set in a time when musicians may have gone
unappreciated and (as ironic as it might sound) may have remained unsung.
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Bardroy Barretto, in a previous
conversation with Café had said, “This movie is a throwback to the recesses of
my memory. The music that I grew up with in Goa between the years 1978 and 1985
is what has spurred on the making of this film. Chris Perry and Lorna’s music
was the substitute for television for my generation. Of course, as is the case
with certain aspects of things in Goa, hearsay played a big role too. There
were many rumours about the relationship that the two shared, which serves as
the spine of the story. But their songs dictated their lives and they do the
same with the storyline. This is primarily why music is the true hero of the
film,” says Bardroy.
While explaining his ideology behind
creating a movie of this nature, Bardroy in a previous conversation had said,
“My idea was to pay tribute to Goan music and the musicians behind it, because
Goan musicians from the glory days of the 60s and 70s certainly did not get their
due. Their contribution to Bollywood was paramount and it is fair to say that
they were the main people behind its music.”
The launch of the film was in stark
contrast to the bigger and perhaps ‘deeper pocketed’ forthcoming Bollywood
release from Anurag Kashyap, ‘Bombay Velvet’. While Bombay Velvet is based on
the 1960s life of the country’s jazz hub features elaborate sets, bigger
budgets and big names such as Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma, Bardroy’s pet
project, set in the same era, has won the hearts of audiences both local and
(thanks to the generous English subtitles) foreign audiences. The soundtrack
and score have been artistically crafted in order to ensure their chronological
order which ties into the relationship shared by the two characters.
