O Maria, a Phenomenal Run! By Damodar Mauzo March 25, 2011
No love scenes, no cabaret dancing, no fights, no Bollywood masala. Yet the Konkani film ‘O Maria’ has proved to be a success. The hundredth day is closing in with cinema-goers still thronging to watch the movie, making a beeline on the weekends.
This is a clear indication that the taste of the Goan audience watching Konkani films has enhanced and that they rather not miss out on a good film. What else do we mean by film culture?
When ‘O Maria’ was opened for screening at Inox and at Osia multiplexes, the initial response was encouraging but far from satisfactory. Neither the producer nor the director knew what the fate of the film would be. Since the number of viewers steadily increased the theaters decided to continue the screening. But what followed was unbelievable. The weekends saw dozens of prospective viewers returning back home as it was a sell out crowd. In spite of the cricket world cup matches and despite the Carnival parades, the shows continues to draw crowds like no other Konkani film made in the past decade.
The reasons? Who would not like to see an intense film that offers a glimpse into the world of the land sharks out to grab our holy land? The Goan people easily identify with the issues raised in the film. There is also a solution, the film offers—Unity of the people. Indeed, a lesson we can all learn from.
‘O Maria’ has been so tightly scripted that many viewers expressed that the film could have gone on for yet another half an hour. The love track is subtle and natural. The relationships built up in the story although simple, have layers of complexities to it. Kevin’s kindness to Maria and mai, her mother, the mother-daughter bond, the neighbourhood and family ties are reflective of the Goan ambience. The music loving Goan audience is thrilled by superstar Remo’s superbly composed songs. The music scored by Remo has the Goan flavour and the songs are bound to strike a popular note across sections. Lyricist Saish Palondikar also deserves a mention for penning these beautiful songs. The acting is brilliant. Bollywood stars, Shernaz Patel and Tiku Talsania, as expected of seasoned actors, do perfect justice to their roles. Cory Goldberg, himself an American, had an added advantage, as he portrayed Mike, the American visitor to Goa. Yes, some do say that occasionally the Konkani pronunciations of Ms Patel essaying Maria do not match. But in the same breath, they admit that her performance is first-rate and the efforts she took to learn and speak Konkani are admirable. What must be stressed upon is that our own Goan artists have given such stunning and wholesome performance that they have matched the acting skills of the above mentioned professional actors.
The tiatr star of Goa, Roseferns has a relatively smaller role to play. But his act as a fun-loving Goan and easy-money-seeker is unforgettable. Also, John who plays Rosario lives up to his reputation as a seasoned artist.
Aryan Khedekar as Jack and Kevin D’Mello as Kevin have done a fabulous job too. Jack portrays the strayed, angry, young man who is always at odds with his brother, the sober and kind hearted Kevin. Both the actors have succeeded in portraying their characters as conceptualised by the writer. But exceptionally good is the show put up by Meenakshi Martins. The different shades of acting she displays, as she portrays Philomena, is a testimony to her brilliance as a fine actress. The gradual transformation from being the vamp to the sober woman, and her role of a concerned wife and a worried mother, makes her acting attain great heights, comparable with that of the other star performers of the films.
Rajendra Talak has every reason to celebrate the unique feat of running a Konkani film in the theatre for a record one hundred days.
http://www.navhindtimes.in/iexplore/o-maria-phenomenal-run
