KONKANI MUSICAL
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Ahead of Anurag Kashyap's 'Bombay Velvet', another Mumbai
jazz age film arrives -- in Konkani
Bardroy Barretto's film about a star-crossed romance between
a jazz trumpeter and a singer was made with Rs 3.5 crores and
lots of free labour from well-wishers.
Nandini Ramnath
Dec 6, 2014 · 03:34 pm
Anurag Kashyap's ambitious and expensive Bombay Velvet, a
Hindi period drama starring Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma
and set in a 1960s world spilling over with jazz singers,
street toughs, tabloid editors and crooked politicians, is
some months away from a release. In the meanwhile, Bardroy
Barretto's more modest but no less ambitious passion project
Nachoaea Kumpasar, which is set in the same era and focuses
on the star-crossed romance between a jazz trumpeter and a
singer, is being shown at special screenings across Goa.
Nachom-ia Kumpasar 6min International Preview from Goa
Folklore on Vimeo.
Loosely inspired by the real-life affair between
composer and songwriter Chris Perry and singer
Lorna Cordeiro and showcasing the contributions of
Goans to the music scene in Mumbai in the 1960s and
'70s, Nachoaea Kumpasar (Let's Dance to the Rhythm)
stars Mumbai actors Vijay Maurya and Paulomi Ghosh
in the lead roles. Naturally, it has several songs
-- 20 of them, based on Perry's original recordings
and featuring Cordeiro's powerful voice. Barretto
had originally planned a biopic on the pair, but he
abandoned it after Cordeiro refused to cooperate.
(Perry died in 2002.) Barretto shifted the focus
towards the jazz-inflected Konkani music, which
remains highly popular and made stars out of its
main performers. "At some point, you realise that
you have to give back to where you come from," said
Barretto, who grew up in Goa.
The movie emerged from memories of the music that wafted over
Barretto's formative years in Goa between 1978 and 1985.
"There was no television at home in those days, and we grew
up listening to the songs of Chris and Lorna," said Barretto,
who now lives in Mumbai and runs an advertising production
company called Brown Skins. "We also grew up with rumours
about their relationship. There were too many versions and
variations of the story, so I can say that my film is based
on hearsay. The songs dictate the storyline. I felt that the
musicians should get their due, which is why the music is the
hero of the film."
The songs are featured in a chronological order and keep tune
with the ebbs and flows of the relationship. "There were
songs about flirting, then there was love, and then there
were song about their love gone wrong," the 45-year-old
director said. Followers of Konkani pop will be familiar with
the names associated with the production. Goan singer Cielda
Pereira sings Cordeiro's songs in the movie. The music is by
Jackson Pereira and Ronnie Monserrate. Barretto also
consulted Anthony Gonsalves, the musician and arranger who
worked closely with Hindi film music composer Pyarelal
Sharma.
A labour of love
Nachoaea Kumpasar has been in the making since 2004 and cost
Rs 3.5 crore, but that figure doesn't include the free labour
donated by well-wishers. "That was why we were able to make
the film on this scale," Barretto said. The movie has 96
producers, comprising mostly friends and family. One of the
contributors is lead actor Vijay Maurya, whom Barretto cast
because of his uncanny resemblance to Perry.
"It was tough to get under the skin of a Goan musician," said
Maurya, who has appeared in such films as Black Friday (he
plays Dawood Ibrahim) and Dubai Return. "I met the musicians,
looked at old photographs, and also watched old Hindi films,
where the Goan musicians are usually in the background
playing the right beat and in tune."
Maurya, who can speak Marathi fluently, learnt to speak
Konkani for Nachoaea Kumpasar. He also got tips in diction
and enunciation from Konkani tiatr legends Prince Jacob (who
also appears in the movie) and John D'Silva. Maurya said he
would ensure that the good folks in the Hindi movie business
watched Nachoaea Kumpasar, and not only because it features
an important phase of jazz music production in Mumbai. "The
film is so soulful, and all of us were closely involved with
it," he said. "Money making and marketing are not everything
– this film will remain in people's hearts, especially from
Goa."
Nachoaea Kumpasar is getting an unconventional, staggered
release. Rather than distributing it in cinemas, Barretto has
been holding screenings for small groups of people at various
venues. One of the first places the movie was shown was Doha
in the United Arab Emirates, where the Goan Welfare
Association paid for the screening. Barretto has also shown
Nachoaea Kumpasar in Margao and Panaji, and he will travel
with the movie in this fashion for the next several months.
"I have taken ten years on this film, and I don't want it to
be irrelevant after two weeks," Barretto said. "If you
release the film in a conventional way, that is how it will
land up."
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