The dying tradition of brass bands and fading generations of
artists who have kept this
art form alive, have found a voice in the latest Konkani film on the cinematic
block, ‘Benddkaar - The Musician’, which is scheduled to hit the silver screen
on the 13th of November at 7: 30p.m at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao.
The film premiered in Dubai, Abu Dhabi,
Sharjah and Qatar in the past weeks. The premier in Israel is planned for later
this month.
Directed by Harry Fernandes, ‘Benddkaar -
The Musician’ which stars three of the top actors in the regional film
industry, namely Varsha Usgaonkar, a Bollywood actor of Goan origin, the
‘Prince’ of tiatr and entertainment Prince Jacob and versatile comedian John
D’Silva, brings alive the withering phenomenon of brass bands and the
challenges its exponents face in times of electronic music.
The films story blends an element of
nostalgia with the contemporary challenges faced by brass band players, through
a musician named Jacob, who is the movie’s main protagonist played by Prince
Jacob himself.
“The protagonist of this movie wants to
honour and save the tradition of the ‘Benddkaar’
In order to do so, Jacob wishes to pass on
his skill to his younger brother, who happens to despise the very profession.
The whole story revolves around as to how does Jacob, with his wife, tries to
make his brother fall in love with the brass band tradition and at the same
time resolve a host of issues faced by his team of brass band musicians as
well,” says Fernandes.
“The skill of being a brass band Benddkaar
has been passed through many generations. But in today’s world, people would
rather prefer having an alternate form for music entertainment, rather than
hiring a brass band for any occasion. Hence, the demand for a brass band is
reduced by the day. The new generation does not like to play wind instruments
as part of brass band groups, as they feel it is not on par with their
standards,” says Prince Jacob
Apart from Varsha Usgaonkar, Prince Jacob
and John D’Silva, the rest of the film’s cast, who are contributing to the
revival of the dying Goan tradition by their presence are Kevin D’Mello,
debutant Naisa Lotleka of Voice of Goa
fame, Dubai-based actors Deepak Paladka, Joseph Mathias, Sunita Menezes and
Claud D’Leema, Cyril Castelino, Sneha Metha, Sujatha Andrade, Alwyn Andrade,
Manu Bantwal, Nikita Peris, Dolphy D’Souza, Ivan Furtado, Hannah Furtado,
Archibald Furtado, Salomi Alvares, Floyd Cascia and the famous Jolly Brass Band
of Perampalli.
Harry Fernandes earlier directed Konkani
hits like Noshibacho Khell, Zanvoy No.1 and Karnataka Government’s best
Regional award winning him film Sophiya. Sophiya also bagged the Best Actress
and Best Script Writer award from Hyssna Global Konkani Cine Awards which was
organised by Mandd Sobhann Group, Mangalore. In addition to that Harry
Fernandes has also directed a Manisha Koirala starrer Hindi movie – Madhyamverg
and seven multi-starrer Bhojpuri films.
“We look forward to the audience to
appreciate the unsung efforts of brass band players across generations, who
have provided musical accompaniment to all those hundreds of thousands of
joyous occasions like weddings and sad occasions like funerals. Not only do
they deserve their due, brass band players also deserve that their tradition
and legacy survives the generations to come,” says Varsha Usgaonkar.
‘Benddkaar - The Musician’ will premiere on the 13th of November at 7:30 pm at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao.a