Pervis Milroy Goes, known better as Milroy Goes is an Indian film director from Goa. He hails from the beautiful village of Cuncolim in South Goa. He ventured into the Film Industry in 2007 with his first short film “Vengeance”. Milroy gained a lot of recognition as a film director soon after the release of his second short film “Unexpected” in 2009. Milroy was mentored by a French film enthusiast named Anthony Coombs-Humphreys, who not only believed in Milroy’s potential as a filmmaker but also assisted him in producing a remake of his short film “Unexpected” for the international audience. The movie, which was titled “Expect the Unexpected”, featured a Bollywood actor named Deepraj Rana. The movie was released in 2011 and received very good reviews.
Milroy Goes’ film “Welcome Millions”, which was released in 2018, was eligible for the Best Picture Award in the General Entry category at the 91st Academy Awards (Oscars) in 2019, but was not nominated. Milroy Goes is credited with being the person to introduce digital cinema in Goa with his debut theatrical film “The Victim” (2012).
Besides filmmaking, Milroy Goes also has various other business ventures including a coffee shop, an artist management firm and a Portuguese passport consultancy firm.
In a brief chat with us, Milroy Goes gives us an insight into his life, his journey as a filmmaker, his other business ventures and lots more.
Humans of Goa is our original and official series that shares inspirational stories from the lives of Goans. We speak to talented and contributing individuals from this wonderful tiny state.
Excerpts
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Perves Milroy Goes. I was born on 3rd September 1986. I am the 9th child in a family of 10 children. From my childhood, I had a very strong interest in painting, drawing and art. Even when I was in class X, I used to take part in several drawing and painting competitions. I was so much into art that I missed out on many of my classes while I was in my SSC year.
So, did you complete your SSC?
No. Since I knew that I wasn’t well prepared to answer my SSC exams, I decided to take a one year break and answer my exams in the next academic year.
Were your parents and teachers ok with your decision to not answer your SSC exams?
Yes. When I told my parents that I wanted to take a break and answer my exams in the next academic year, they had no objection to it. My teachers, as well as my headmistress, were also very supportive of my decision. They told me to take a break, study hard and then answer my exams next year.
So, did you answer your exams the next year?
No. I did not answer my SSC exams the next year. Instead, I decided to drop out of school. In my family, all are very highly educated. I have a sister who is a lawyer, a brother who is a lawyer, and my youngest brother has done his post-graduation. When the next academic year started, I found it very odd to go back to school with students one year younger to me in age. I also had developed a lot of interest in graphic designing and was not very much interested in studies. I had never ever failed in my life. And since everyone in my family is highly educated, I decided that instead of answering my SSC exams and failing, it would be better to drop out of school, because I felt that dropping out would not be as shameful and embarrassing as failing in my exams. To uphold the respect and good name of my family, I decided to drop out of school.
After dropping out of school, what did you do?
After dropping out of school, I wanted to study fine arts but I could not get admission because the criteria to be eligible for admission was you had to be 12th pass. So, I started learning software like Adobe Photoshop, CorelDraw, and various other software related to digital art, web designing, and video editing.
After I dropped out of school, my drawing teacher, who was very close to me, told me that digital art was picking up and that I should start learning all the software related to it. When my sister was in the eleventh standard, we brought a computer in the house for her to use. I started learning all the software related to digital art from her computer. Also, I had a neighbour who had a photo studio. He gave me a copy of Photoshop and I started learning this software on my own.
What was your first job?
My first job was as a cafe attendant at a cyber cafe in Margao. I used to work from morning till 5 p.m. as a graphic designer at an office and then I used to serve at the cybercafé for 2-3 hours in the evening as a cafe attendant.
After working at the cyber cafe for about 2 years, I started my own graphic design and website development firm called “Stunning Point”. The firm used to develop websites and graphics for clients, both in Goa as well as in different parts of India. My firm’s first major client was Club Tito’s.
How did you get into films? Did you take up any special course in film making?
No. I did not do any film making course. All the knowledge that I have about film making is self-acquired. I was a huge film buff since my childhood. I used to watch a lot of movies on DVD, especially Hollywood movies. So when you buy an original DVD of a movie, you get two discs in it – one is of the film and one is of the making of the film. Watching the making of films motivated me to become a filmmaker. Also, I learnt all the various filmmaking and video-editing software by myself. I also gained a lot of knowledge and experience regarding filmmaking by meeting other filmmakers and by attending the masterclasses conducted by eminent filmmakers at IFFI in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Any interesting incident that shaped your life that you would like to share with us?
Yes. I had an opportunity somewhere in 2007 to witness the shooting of a Bollywood movie in my village of Cuncolim. The film that was being shot was “One Two Three”, starring Suniel Shetty, Tusshar Kapoor and Paresh Rawal. The shooting of a scene for the movie was going on at the KTC bus stand in Cuncolim.
I went on the film’s set, met the director of the film, and also acted in one of the scenes of the film as a junior artiste. After the shot was done, everybody was told to leave the set. Mr. Sunil Shetty was sitting on the set and many people who had gathered near the set were going to take his autograph. However, the production crew were driving people away from the set. I thought they would allow me to take an autograph because I was a part of the film. I took Sunil Shetty’s autograph and as I was leaving the set, one of the crew members started scolding me and asking me why I came near the actor despite being told not to do so.
This incident kind of served as a motivating factor for me to become a filmmaker. I had got this thing in my head that instead of being shouted at by a crew member, one fine day, I will also direct a film and be the boss on the set. I will be the man at the helm of affairs on set, not an ordinary junior artiste who can be shouted at.
Give us a brief idea of your journey as a filmmaker?
My first short film, entitled “Vengeance” was made in 2007 with my brother Rohan Goes, my good neighbour Khabir Moraes and a few students from Afghanistan who were studying in Goa at that time. The film was widely circulated among students and earned a lot of popularity within a few weeks of its release. In 2008, the film was screened at IFFI Chota Cinema.
My next short film called “Unexpected” came out in 2009 and was featured at IFFI that same year. It got more exposure at the festival and also helped me to gain recognition as a filmmaker. People from different film industries across the world, who had come to attend the festival, shared their views and valuable suggestions with me regarding my film.
I then made a feature film in 2012 called “The Victim”. This film was the first Konkani movie to get a digital theatrical release. It featured a few Bollywood actors and was shot entirely on a Canon EOS 7D camera. One of the scenes of the film was shot at the same bus stand where I had first seen a movie being shot. The only difference was that this time, I was the man behind the scenes, wearing the director’s hat and calling the shots on the set. I was not an ordinary junior artiste the way I was when “One Two Three” was being shot.
Soon after making “The Victim”, I got a phone call from an ad agency in Delhi saying that they wanted to shoot an ad film with Brett Lee in Goa and wanted me to come on board the project as the creative director of the film. I did the ad film with Brett Lee and the film earned a lot of popularity when it was released. I have also shot many music videos for English and Hindi songs. One of the English music videos which was shot by me was featured on Vh1. My short film “Peon – Ek Chaprasi” premiered on the closing day of the ‘Goa Short Film Carnival in 2015.
In 2017, I wrote and directed the feature film “Welcome Millions” and in 2018, the film had its premiere at Laemmle’s Music Hall in Beverly Hills, USA. It went on to qualify for the Best Picture Award in the general category at the 91st Academy Awards but did not receive any nomination.
Currently, I am a participating member at the Academy Awards, which means I am eligible to contest at the Oscars again. And this time, I am independent and associated with various licensed agents of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to make more big dreams come true on big banners.
Did you try working in Bollywood?
I was in Mumbai while doing the remake of my short film “Unexpected”. The movie had actors from Bollywood. I signed Deepraj Rana, a famous Bollywood actor, for the film, brought him to Goa, and shot the film. I became very good friends with him and he introduced me to many other people in the film fraternity in Mumbai. He used to invite me for lunch or dinner whenever I visited Mumbai. I have met Sanjay Mishra, the actor from Rohit Shetty’s Golmaal film franchise. Every time I go to Mumbai, I have to inform my friends from Bollywood that I will be visiting their city. I have to have breakfast or lunch with them. They treat me like family. So, yes. I am very much open to doing films in Bollywood.
Is there any particular actor from Bollywood that you would like to work with someday?
As I have told you, I have a lot of good friends from Bollywood. I have worked with many Bollywood actors in the past and I am very much interested in doing a Bollywood film. But as of now, I am more focussed on which platform I should target rather than which actor I should work with. I have tasted success on Amazon Prime Video and am now focusing on Netflix.
What prompted you to start Cafe Bom Gosto?
I always wanted to do many things in life and during the lockdown, my younger brother Rohan Goes saw a business opportunity in the food business segment. Also, one of my sisters was learning to make various sweets by watching YouTube videos. So, I and Rohan joined hands together as partners and decided to start a cafe that would help us to earn good revenue (since the food business was booming during the lockdown) and also provide a platform for my sister to sell her homemade sweets. All these thoughts and ideas led to the birth of Cafe Bom Gosto in April 2020.
Ever since the cafe started, it has come a long way and has become very popular with tourists as well as locals. It has established itself as a brand and has been awarded the ‘Times Food Delivery Icons of Goa’ award for 2021. The café is located right in the heart of Cuncolim town, near the Kadamba Bus Stand at Cuncolim. It is the only café in the area that serves fresh bean coffee, with a signature blend, brewed!
Apart from serving food and drinks, the cafe also houses a mini-library where patrons can sit and enjoy a nice read. The cafe is also the venue for several events and meet-ups, where like-minded people get together, share views and exchange ideas.
What are the other things that you are into?
I run a consultancy firm in Cuncolim which assists people in applying for Portuguese Nationality. I believe that if you’re good at something and you strongly want to do it, then you should just go for it. I assisted many people from my extended family in obtaining Portuguese nationality and during this whole process, I gained a lot of knowledge about all the procedures involved in applying for it. So, I started using all this knowledge to help my friends in obtaining Portuguese passports and gradually I turned this into a commercial venture where I provide all the necessary information and other services involved in applying for a Portuguese passport.
I also have a firm known as Buenos Muzik which assists aspiring singers in Goa to get into the music industry. This firm is run by me and my brother Rohan Goes. As a filmmaker, I have done a lot of work for major music labels like SareGama and Sony Music. I have also worked with music maestro A.R Rehman’s singers on several music projects.
So, since I had a large network of established musicians and other important people in the music industry, I decided to use that to assist aspiring singers in Goa to get a foothold in the music industry and give them that much-needed exposure.
Whenever we come across any singer whom we feel has a lot of potential, we help them out by providing them with all the resources and contacts that they need to kickstart their musical career. Whether you’re a singer, songwriter or musician, we back you in what you need to succeed in today’s world of music.
Any celebs that you have worked with?
Yes. Apart from Bollywood actors like Deepraj Rana and Razak Khan, I have also worked with Bollywood singer Shashaa Tirupati. I am also very well connected with Kåre Wanscher and Mikkel Lentz from the famous band “Michael Learns To Rock”. They have produced the background score and theme song for my film “Welcome Millions”.
Any message that you have for all our Goan youth out there?
Yes. There are 3 important things that I have learnt through experience that I would like to share with all our Goan youth.
Firstly, it is very important to surround yourself with people who have a positive mindset and who are very supportive. It is very important to have a good circle of friends who can contribute to your growth as a person. People who lift you up and encourage you during your struggles. Critics are good, be prepared to accept criticism and if you are put down, don’t forget to stand back up. Don’t make friends with people that lead you along the wrong path. The type of people you are surrounded by makes you who you are.
Secondly, whatever it is that you are doing in life, start small. If you make small mistakes during your journey, learn from those mistakes and fix them. These mistakes help you to grow and become a better version of who you are.
And finally, the third and most important thing is that it is very important to have a strong connection with the Source, The Creator, GOD. Without faith, there is no victory. I am a living testament to this. Despite being a Class X dropout and not having any high educational qualifications, I have still emerged successful in my life. I have tasted success as a filmmaker, as a restaurateur and also as an entrepreneur with my Portuguese Passport consultancy firm. Whatever good has happened in my life, whatever I have achieved till today is all because of my strong faith in the Almighty whom I always give first place in my life.
Alright, then. It was a pleasure speaking to you Milroy. We wish you the very best in all your future endeavours and look forward to seeing many more good movies from you in the near future.
Thank you so much.
