Konkani gets its due at Toronto
SUBHADRA DEVAN
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| A scene from film |
GOA, that retreat of bliss for many, took centrestage at the 18th Toronto International Film Festival last month, when a film shot in the lesser-known language of Konkani took the film critics’ prize.
Titled The Man Beyond The Bridge (Paltadacho Munis), this debut feature film by Goan director Laxmikant Shetgaonkar won the International Federation of Film Critics (Fipresci) Prize for Discovery.
On the judging panel were jury president Diego Lerer (Argentina), Jan Schulz-Ojala (Germany), Hynek Pallas (Sweden), Kirill Razlogov (Russia), Denis Seguin (Canada) and Jorge Gutman (Canada).
Director Laxmikant had previously won critical acclaim for his documentary, A Seaside Story, which was produced by the National Film Development Corporation of India.
The Man Beyond The Bridge, based on a short story by Mahableshwar Sail, was shot in the forests of Goa’s Western Ghats.
It touches upon the theme of insanity and local taboos. It offers insight into village traditions and beliefs.
The story is about widowed forest ranger Vinayak who develops an intimate relationship with a mentally ill woman, risking becoming an outcast.
A subplot introduces a village headman who plans to build a temple on forest land in a crass bid for election.
It’s Vinayak’s duty to oppose the construction, but the headman has key villagers in his pocket, including thieves who steal forest wood to build the temple, and even the priest who could legitimise the union of Vinayak and his new love.
The Toronto International Film Festival called it “a rare find from rural India”.
The Man Beyond The Bridge explores smaller but enduring dilemmas. Stated the TIFF Press release: “What liberties can be taken with a natural environment by those entrusted to protect it? Is a man who marries a madwoman helping her or taking advantage?
“Laxmikant takes up these questions with humility and heart, finding an apt metaphor in a delicate rope bridge that links the wild forest to the so-called civilisation of the village.”
The director saw the award as a triumph for the Konkani language, which has no unique script and almost never appears in films.
According to a Reuters report, recent estimates put the total number of Konkani speakers in India at roughly 2.5 million, a mere 0.2 per cent of the country’s 1.2 billion people.
Laxmikant told Reuters that he hoped The Man Beyond The Bridge would get people to question attitudes toward the mentally ill.
“The idea is to raise an issue, try to reflect different perspectives and make people think,” said the director who studied theatre before landing in film.
Laxmikant hoped the recognition gained by the film would encourage Indian film-makers to produce works in other regional languages that do not have a long cinematic history.
“It’s all about making a good film, irrespective of which language you make it in.”
Obtaining financial backing for the film took some doing, reported the Times of India. The state government had developed a scheme to fund Goan film-makers but the script was rejected for film funding.
It was eventually funded by the National Film Development Corporation.
The script was actually picked up by the NFDC at a scriptwriting workshop during the International Film Festival of India 2007 which was held in Goa, after the state government had rejected it, stated the ToF report.
After the Fipresci award, funds should not be a problem for Laxmikant. – By SUBHADRA DEVAN
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