The Konkani film industry is experiencing tough times. The market is tiny, the audience not so responsive, the infrastructure is not easily available and none of the movies made so far have generated a profit as yet. Is there a way to turn this industry around? Is it by way of exploring new subjects not tackled in the past? Is that the way to find a market both locally and amongst the Diaspora.
Yesterday, a filmmaker presented a movie based on the supernatural. With English subtitles, the producer hopes the movie will be viewed by a large number of the audience that watches Konkani films. The movie, Akshay Singh the producer and writer said the screenplay was communicated very well by the actors and the non-actors. Film producers in the state had their own viewpoint as to whether movies with subjects that are perceived to be out of the box would attract the audience to the theatre.
Rajendra Talak famed Director and Producer felt such subjects or any subject that was tackled in an interesting manner would be received with enthusiasm by the audience. He said, “Any good content that is made for around Rs 1 crore is viable for a market like Goa. People are looking forward to watching good cinema in any language and that holds true for movies in the Konkani language too”. He however advised caution. He said anyone thinking of making a movie along the lines of Pathan would have to exercise caution. Talak said, “The budgets for such movies are massive, in the Rs 200 crore range. Goa has an 8 to 9 lakh local Konkani speaking population and the rest are a floating population that speaks Marathi and other languages. Movies like Pathan are out and out commercial affairs and we in the Konkani film-making industry should not focus on initiatives. They will not be able to recover their investment”. He said even those who were interested in promoting cinema in the Konkani language would not be able to do it because of the budget involved. Talak laughed and said anyone who wanted to blow up such numbers for a Konkani film was most welcome to do so.
Another director Dnyanesh Moghe felt the Goan film watching public was always open to watching good cinema. Moghe said, “Goans watch all kinds of movies and certainly not lagging behind any other audience in terms of appreciation of good cinema. The film festival has exposed Goans to good cinema and to new trends and made it a more mature audience. New subjects that are out of the box will certainly be welcome by the Goan audience. They will be able to analyse and understand the movie. We like good cinema.”
However, Durga Prasad raised issues which could not be ignored. Prasad felt making a movie was half the battle in Goa. Prasad said, “Where can I show my movies? At cinemas like the Inox, Konkani films are screened for three to four days. Then they are removed. There is no place for Konkani. In Panjim, I can showcase my film only at the ESG, what about Margao and Vasco? Where can a producer get his returns? The question that needs to be asked is if it is possible to get returns. There are good script writers and the government is providing support but where can I screen the movies? Inox has to give15 % concession to local film producers but that is not happening. The government has to direct the cinema chain to do so but has not done so. Making movies with interesting stories is certainly possible but what happens after they are made and there is no place to screen them. I have eight to ten stories and one has been made and the dubbing is taking place but where can I screen my movie? These are all commercial ventures and require returns on investment.”
Jyoti Kunkolienkar producer and writer was of the opinion that people were looking for new ideas. She said, “People are watching movies or reading books in various languages and are exposed to new ideas. They look for the same in the movies they watch. Sometimes it is important to make movies with interesting ideas and expose people to these ideas. I believe people would be open to movies bringing out new ideas”.
Perhaps the solution lies somewhere in the middle where an astute producer makes a film within a budget that can be recovered and promotes an interesting new idea.
