You’ve heard, sang along and danced your heart out to the hit tune Despacito by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber. Now, it’s time to get a little more local. A Konkani version of the popular track written by South Indian actress and noted Konkani singer Ester Noronha and starring her along with Telegu actor and rapper Noel Jean in the music video was released on Easter on social media and has garnered around 2 lakh views in just 7 days.
“I liked everything about the original song. The music, the video, everything is really wonderful. The beauty of the land, the people there, everything is put in so beautifully in the song. I wanted to do something similar in Konkani,” says Ester.
Ester shared the idea about making a Konkani version of the song with her Telugu co-actor cum rapper Noel Jean with whom she is currently working on a project in Telugu. The duo have also done a Telegu version of the tune recently. “Noel immediately agreed to the idea and started working on it. I finished with the lyrics within a day. We roped in the production team from Hyderabad and my mother produced the video,” adds Ester, who also sings the tune while Noel has done his first ever rap in Konkani.
The video of the song is shot entirely in Goa at Monte hill church, Old Goa, Cabo de Ram and Farm House restaurant in Benaulim along with some streets and landscapes as fillers. The production part was done in Hyderabad. “Goa has always been stereotyped as a place where you have pubs, girls in shorts skirts and even the videos or movies shot here choose those same locations again and again. That is not what Goa is all about. Through my video I wanted to give the actual beautiful representation of Goa,” explains the singer who finds a close connect with the state not just because of the language but also the fact that she has more friends in Goa than any other place. At the same time Ester also wanted to give Konkani language a platform on par with the international standards. “I have even got messages where people from other countries have actually got to know that there exist a language called Konkani after listening to the song ,” she says
“People did comment about the song being a copy of the original Despacito but those were just handful of them compared to the large number who appreciated the work. I think it is fair enough to compose your version of your inspirational song. Many stars like Justin Bieber, Rihanna etc have done that earlier but that was ignored because it was in English. If my Konkani language is getting recognised through this attempt, I think it is an achievement for me,” says Ester.
Ester has completed the shooting of her Hindi film Nagrik which is right now in the post production period and might release anytime this year.
