Panaji:While the entire country has been locked down for the last 40 days, and most of the news coming through foretells of a bleak future for the film industry, here is something to brighten up your day.
Fans of the late Manohar Parrikar would rejoice to know that a Canadian media start-up funded production house Purple Orchid Films, which is run by an ex-IITian, is producing a film which is "inspired" by the life of former Defence Minister. (Pics- Facebook Profile)
According to spokesperson and Executive Producer Rajesh Kamat for Purple Orchid Films, this is not a biopic, but only draws inspiration from the life of the veteran leader who succumbed to cancer a year ago.
While most of the cast includes professionals from Mumbai, theatre artiste Poonam Karekar-Govekar from Mapusa is the main protagonist and narrator of the film. Poonam plays a Goan journalist who started her career with an interview with Parrikar almost 20 years ago.
According to the 32-year old Poonam, she had auditioned for the project in February this year and it was supposed to hit the floor in May, but has been delayed for about 3-4 months, due to the Corona virus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. About 60 per cent of the film will be shot in Goa in August this year, while the rest will be shot in Mumbai and Delhi. It's a 60 minute film with subtitles in English and Hindi and includes dialogues in Konkani, Marathi and Hindi.
Poonam is thrilled to be shooting for this project. "I never knew I would be selected. We were supposed to start shooting in May, but it's now delayed by about three months. We will roll in August," she said, adding her contracts forbids her from speaking about the budget or other star cast of the film. The film will be directed by Maneesh S Singh.
Manohar Gopalkrishna Prabhu Parrikar known as Manohar Parrikar or Bhai to friends, was born on December 13, 1955, and passed away on March 17, 2019, after almost fighting for one year. He was leader of Bharatiya Janata Party in Goa, who served as Chief Minister of Goa for three terms.
He also served as Minister of Defence from October 2014 to March 2017. In January 2020, he was posthumously awarded the Padma Bhushan.(UNI)