Goa's liberation movement to be adapted for silver screen

A French filmmaker has decided to reproduce Goa's liberation history in a movie which will portray the psyche of Portuguese soldiers who surrendered to the Indian Army.
The film, titled 'da Goa', will chronicle incidents of the fag end of the 450-year-old colonial rule in the western Indian state which was liberated on December 19, 1961.
"The movie is a statement against the then dictatorial rule by Antonio de Oliveira Salazar who was later defeated through peaceful protests which were inspired by non-violence movement of Mahatma Gandhi," French producer Luc Bossi told PTI at NFDC's Film Bazaar here on the sidelines of the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

The movie, based on the real-life story of a soldier, will have a mix of Portuguese, English and Konkani languages and would be directed by Jaime Mateus Tique, the 42-year-old filmmaker said.
"It has lot of true element. It will be a coming-of-age movie on what life is about. The name of the character is Joao. The name of original soldier who inspired the film is different. Actually, the character Joao is a mixture of experiences of all the soldiers who were termed as traitors because they surrendered to Indian Army," he said.
"At the end of the movie, Indian Army marches in then Portuguese Goa and the soldiers are made prisoners. But back in their country, they are considered to have betrayed the order to fight till death. Actually, there was no reason to fight. It was obvious that the territory should be Indian," he said adding that the proposed film would be an "important piece of history."

The father of the film's director (Tique) had come here in 1961 during the liberation of the state by Indian Army and had seen how a young solider learned to rebel against his own military officer, he said.

The movie will be shot in Portugal and Goa, with major portions to be filmed in the beach state.
Bossi said they are in search of co-producers for the film and will also select actors, casting director and locations during his current visit here.
The filmmaker is aware of the challenges in creating the '60s era for the film.
"It might be difficult to find the right location. We will do some research and find places which look like those in '60s. The director has done a lot of research through books and has interviewed Goans. When we prepare the movie there will be more research," he added.

The film, with a budget of USD two million, is expected to go on floor in October, next year.