A man who is now 52, wears several hats to his name. Call him a cricketer, an actor, a Vaastu specialist, you name it and you will find him at the top of the ladder. Rajesh Pednekar has certainly been one of the few pioneers in taking Goa’s culture, heritage and sports to the next level. He has unique penchant to first convert his hobby into passion and then to profession.
Unlike Sunil Gavaskar, Sandeep Patil, Salil Ankola, all well-known cricketing legends who acted in films and TV serials, Rajesh who scored a double hundred for Goa in Ranji trophy, also lifted a trophy this month for his award winning film ‘K Sera Sera— GhodpachemGhoddtelem’. Directed by Rajiv Shinde and produced by the Goan duo of Gayatri Pednekar and Rajesh R. Pednekar under the banner of de Goan Studio, the much anticipated film received rave reviews at its screenings at international film festivals.
It was the only Konkani film to be selected in the Indian panorama section at the 47th International film festival of India (IFFI) which concluded a few months ago here in Goa. For Goa it brought in a pride moment when the film was adjudged as the Best Regional Film (Konkani) at the 64th National Film Awards in Delhi and President of India, Pranab Mukherjee honoured these proud Goans.
The movie revolves around a concept – ‘Do we live life? Or does life happen to us?’. The film is essentially about two individuals at the Goan backdrop settings. One who believes in changing the circumstances with precise and definite decisions and the other who believes in drifting with the situations around and let circumstances decide the course of their life. The name of the movie stems from this core concept.
With a celebrated star cast which includes the extremely talented and graceful Palomi Ghosh, Goa’s favourite tiatrists Prince Jacob and John D’Silva and the producer himself, Rajesh Pednekar, the film promises to take its viewers on a journey of self-discovery.
Possibly this success may have come to him as he is not only passionate about the Vaastu Shashtra but has been in professional consultancy for the same for past 19 years. “I learnt Vaastu from the ancient text and not from the modern books which are readily available today in the market. It started as a hobby and then turned into passion. Someone from Bangaluru told me not to go for modern books as it will be confusing. Actually is in ancient science. I took it as a profession when some one told me that if you do not ask for a consultation fee, people will not take you seriously,” said Mr Pednekar.
His father, a businessman, vehemently opposed him to take Vaastu consultation as a profession. However, he did succumb to Rajesh’s plea that he wanted to see people happy through his profession. “Till today, for the last 19 years I am only practicing and consulting Vaastu by word of mouth and I do not advertise. It first started in Goa where I have lot of clients. Then it moved out of Goa and now I am offering my consultation abroad too,” added Mr Pednekar.
People like Kumarmangalam Birla, companies like Ambuja Cements, Anil Ambani, McDonalds are his client, just to name the few. He has done at least over 1000 consultations on Vaastu in past 19 years. “My study revealed that several ancient houses are built as per Vaastu. However, in modern times the words which played a major role in building a home were — convenience, requirement, availability of space etc. Here the balance of energy got disturbed and here the negative vibes creeped in. I have tried to help protect Goa’s heritage and style through my Vaastu knowledge,” said Rajesh Pednekar.
