In March of this year, Konkani cinema was buzzing as Elvis Kahn Fernandes premiered Goa’s first ever Konkani horror movie, Cynthia, in cinemas across the state. The movie opened to rave reviews for its disturbing performance by lead actress Maya Kalsi who played the possessed Cynthia. Critics also lauded the film for its beautiful original soundtrack written and composed by the lead actor, and composer, Elvis Kahn Fernandes. The success of Konkani cinema seems to be headed in the right direction with highly commendable releases in the recent past, including the Jackie Shroff starer Kantaar at the start of the year, along with Amod Mardolkar’s FAKE. Now, after much hype, Konkani cinema finally saw the release of its first sports movie, Glory, about Goa’s favourite F word – football.
Glory, Konkani cinema’s first ever film with a sports theme was written by Saish Panondikar & Sunil Kumar, directed by A. Durga Prasad & Tinky George, and produced by A. Durga Prasad. The film stars famous Goan actors Rajesh Pednekar, Salil Naik, Brijesh Kakodkar and Manoj Joshi. The film also stars Sachin Surlikar, Fermino Goes, Luis Bacchan, Comedian Nato, Chitra Alfonso, Veloshka and Rohit Khandekar in supporting roles. Originally premiering on May 24th, the film which was screened at Margao’s Ravindra Bhavan saw a massive turnout.
The movie follows the story of a Goan football team that has been selected to play at a national championship. Under the guidance of coach Srinivas, we see the joys and the pitfalls that the team endures as they make their way towards the finals. In the words of Director Tinky George, “On one side, the players have to manage their personal lives while on the other side function as a cohesive team despite internal politics and other issues.” The film evokes a sense of pride that is inherent in every true blooded Goan with regards to football, celebrating the sport and the ‘Glory’ of winning as a team. With music by Ronnie Monserrate and Rajay Pawar, an up-tempo original track called Fatoder Uthun by Aurvile Rodrigues, and a soul-stirring ballad titled Aami Yetle Potte Yetele by Acacio Pereira (click the links to listen to the tracks), the film stands out as a hallmark of Konkani cinema.
If you haven’t seen the trailer, check it out below. Also, let us know your thoughts in the comments – we’d love to hear from you! The film will be screened at Inox theatres in Panaji, Margao and Porvorim from June 14 to June 20. The screening timings for Panaji and Porvorim are 8 p.m. while in Margao it is at 7:30 p.m.
