Just two days after being released on YouTube, ‘Uzvadd Paloi Naka’, Elvis Mascarenhas’ first Konkani single on his new channel has gained more than 5,500 views. The song is gaining a great response, not just for its music and Elvis’ powerful voice but the message behind the song, to stop abortion.
“I have been singing since a very young age and I have sung for songs which have been featured in CDs, VCDs and even on YouTube but I never thought that I would have my own YouTube channel and my own songs will be viewed on the social media platform. The idea for ‘Uzvadd Paloi Naka’ was on my mind for a long time and I thought it would be a great way to bring out the message of being pro-life through the song,” says Elvis Mascarenhas.
He further adds, “I wanted to say what was in my heart through the song. There are so many rules and regulations when it comes to protecting different animals, frogs and stray dogs. You can be jailed and levied a hefty fine if you are arrested. But the life of a child has no value and abortion is done so easily even though it is the killing of an innocent life. I felt it was more important to create awareness about stopping abortion rather than singing a love song. The song is how an unborn child is telling his mother that he is important and all the happy moments she will miss with her child if she goes ahead with the abortion.”
Besides being a noted singer an actor in tiatrs, films and short films, Elvis is also one of the founding members of Goan folk dance and music group ‘Goenchim Noketram’ which has performed in 49 international shows in countries like USA, Trinidad and Tobago, Paraguay, Argentina, Macau, Maldives, Bahrain, Qatar and UAE. He has also participated at Mando Festivals as a lead male singer for the same group for 10 years in original and traditional category.
Known for his distinct emotionally charged voice, Elvis has performed this song for many concerts but YouTube will take it to a wider audience all around the world. ‘The song was composed by me a long time back and I used to sing it on stage. I had my mind set that this will be the first single I release on YouTube but it took time to get the video done and getting the right actors according to the characters,” he explains.
Elvis has been working as a drum teacher at Pilar Music Academy since 1996 and most of the children and youngsters featured in the video are his drum students. “Cast members, Annette T Gracias Flor Da Costa and Jonan Shane Fernandes are my students as well as Samuel who plays the bass drum in the video and Euban Pereira, who directed the video. They all are very talented and I am happy that they are part of the video. I planned the video and then selected the cast for it accordingly,” he says.
Annette Tereza Gracias Flor Da Costa is a graduate in Bachelors of Arts in English from Rosary College of Commerce and Arts, Navelim and is currently studying masters in sports management at University of Technology, Sydney. Annette plays the role of a young unmarried mother in two minds about aborting her child. “I’ve always enjoyed acting and look forward for any opportunities to act or spread some smiles and laughter. I’ve acted in a few videos but this is my first Konkani music video. This is also the first time I acted in like something sad and very touching,” says Annette.
Speaking about her experience while working on the song, she says, “It was a blessing to be a part of this video and to use the god given talent. It was also a different experience with Jonan as he was shy of me but he is such a sweet child and we all worked together with the assistance of Euban and his team. I was able to act accordingly to what vision they had for the video. I really liked this song because Elvis has portrayed such a powerful and touching message in it. It was a wonderful experience, something I’ll always remember and I hope this video and song makes a difference and helps save sweet little innocent lives.”
The song is directed by Euban Pereira and the cinematography is by Joson Fernandes. Euban from Majorda learnt the drums from Elvis for three years and is now more focused on working on music videos, short films and feature films. “I have worked on different Konkani music videos. Elvis informed me about the song and conceptualised the video. The shooting was done within three days,” says Euban.
Speaking about working with children in the video, he says, “It was interesting and challenging at the same time. It is difficult directing children especially those who are not into acting. Elvis felt that the children look good and they did their role well. Annette showed great emotions and Elvis is best known for his singing and acting which he did effortlessly for the video.”
The cast of the song includes Annette T Gracias Flor Da Costa and Jonan Shane Fernandes while the cute little musicians are Samuel John Fernandes on bass drum, Jonah Nandiyala on snare drum and Ezikiel Mascarenhas, Elvis’ nine year old son on trumpet. The music arrangement is by Selvyn Braganza and mastering by Francisco P Fernandes. The gaffer is Shawn Godinho while the editing and colour grading as well as the drone shots are by Joson Fernandes. The artwork was created by Raj Vishwakarma and the video by JSEA Studios.
One of the biggest influences that led Elvis to think about creating awareness about preventing abortion was Milagres Pereira, who is leading Human Life International (HLI) – Goa since 1996. Elvis has been a former art student of Milagres at Milu’s Art Centre and then contributed to different projects that were held under HLI Goa. “Through HLI, we promote being pro-life and spread the message of the preciousness of a child’s life. We also explain the importance of a marriage and its sanctity through the message in the gospel. For the past many years, we had been organising annual musical shows but now upload songs and messages on YouTube with noted singers and musicians,’ says Milagres. Besides Goa, there are only three more centres in India, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kerala.
Does creating awareness about abortion make any difference in the Goan society? “There are several children who have been saved. Many unmarried mothers are also encouraged and support is provided to raise their child. Many who were given up for adoption are now married and have their own children. Those who had approached us for counselling are still in touch with us and they keep messaging us about their life,” Milagres explains optimistically that a single message can have an impact on saving a life.
