Goa goes on guard

#TGLife 

Recently released Bollywood film Malang has caused quite a lot of controversy in Goa. It has been stated that the film has scenes of drug consumption and rave parties set in Goa, and this brings a bad name to the state. Taking cognizance of the issue, chief minister Pramod Sawant has stated that film scripts will now be checked by authorities before giving permission for filming. 

The move does raise a couple of questions: Is the government trying to censor films in this manner? Will this measure help prevent negative portrayal of the state in Bollywood? To be honest, not all movies shot in Goa show the state in a bad light. There are movies such as Dil Chahta Hai which have been hailed as classics, or Finding Fanny, which packs a serious message and also shows the laid-back side of Goa. 

There are of course many films which also caused trouble for the state’s image. Secondly, there are many documentaries that try to make a statement on Goa and drugs. However, films are not the only contributor to Goa’s popular image. Incidents such as recent deaths at the venue of a party, allegedly due to drug overdose appear in the news, and it is from such news that ideas for films develop. In that light, how much would it help to take such a measure?

Noted documentaries on Goa

Last Hippie Standing

Last Hippie Standing is a 45 minute documentary made by the German filmmaker Marcus Robbin that compares the 1960s and 1970s hippie era with the scene in Goa in 2000. The documentary contains interviews with hippie veterans like DJ Goa Gil as well as Goan locals and footage from the 1960s and 1970s.

The Goa Hippie Tribe Project

Goa Hippie Tribe is an interactive documentary that tells the story of the original hippies in Goa, about people who shared a common space and time on the shores of Goa during the 70’s ‘hippy revolution’ and are re-united after more than 30 years on social media. The documentary was made for SBS by Australian filmmaker Darius Devas, who spent his early years living on the beaches of Goa and travelled back in 2010 to document this unique re-union of an old community.

Flipping Out 

Flipping Out is a 2007 Israeli-Canadian documentary film directed by Yoav Shamir describing the drug use of Israeli men and women in India.It follows Israeli soldiers who take their discharge bonus and travel to India. The film is shot in Goa and parts of Himachal. 

I have not watched Malang, so I cannot comment on whether the film harms Goa’s image or not. That said, the government’s decision to screen film scripts beforehand can be viewed from many different angles. Firstly, it can indeed be said that Bollywood has never really portrayed Goa in a fair manner. So, one might agree to the stand taken by the government. However, what if every state government starts  screening scripts before permitting filming? In that case, filmmakers will have to be busy navigating legal minefields I f there has to be such a censoring, it should come through a central body. 

— Aditya Jambhale, filmmaker

This measure by the state government to prevent wrong portrayal of Goa may not exactly help much. Filmmakers might just build sets in filmcity and shoot the film there, showing it as Goa. Thus, the practical implementation of this idea seems rather difficult. 

— Sachin Chatte, film critic

Films are inspired by real life events. If a filmmaker is highlighting some incidents in real life, you cannot stop him or her from doing that. Goa has been in the news due to wrong reasons. This issue is more complex than it looks and the state needs to do a lot more than this.

— Abhinav Joshi, filmmake