Life often presents us with opportunities to improve upon our situation and change for the better. But it is upto us to recognise and grab these opportunites. This is the the main theme behind the upcoming short Konkani feature film Tiffin Box directed by youngster Brijesh Kakodker.
“The film is very Goan in nature and there is a fusion of two dialects - Salcette Konkani and the dialect which is prevalent in Ponda area. We have been working on this film for almost a year and it is currently in post production stage,” says Kakodker, 24, adding that the film is about 45 minutes in length.
Tiffin Box, traces the journey of Caitu, a milkman, which has been played by noted Konkani tiatrist John D'Silva while actor Rajiv Hede plays the role of Dadu Sheth, the landlord. Manjusha Talwadker and Santosh Kudalkar also feature in the film. The story has been scripted by Supraj Kerkar and has been shot in Codra village near Ponda.
“The idea for the story came from the title itself. In fact the tiffin box itself is a character in the film,” informs Kakodker, adding that the story is entirely different from the popular Bollywood movie Lunch Box which starred Irrfan Khan.
The shooting for the film began in December last year and was completed in five days. “ This was a conscious decision looking at our pockets,” says Kakodker. “Budget is a major problem for making these films as people don't come forward to support them. In fact we are still in search of a producer.”
Kakodker further adds that there won't be any official release of this film as it has been done more for festival purposes. “ In India, people don't really buy tickets to watch this genre as this trend has not yet caught up in India, forget about Goa. Still, we hope to have a show in Panaji and Margao and depending on the response we will take it from there. But our focus is to submit it for short film festivals especially out of India,” he says. On why they are targeting festivals out of the country instead of India, Kakodker states that there are very few such festivals in India. “Also the pace of the film is very slow as we have tried to keep it real. In India, although it is gradually changing there is still a preference for entertainment over realism. Plus there is also the issue of the film duration. We tried submitting it for a festival at Mumbai but the limit for short films is 30 minutes and we couldn't cut the film as it will spoil the story. There are more options with regards to limits outside India including an under 45 minute section,” says Kakodker. Kakodker also adds that although finance is an issue and most people in this field usually depend on festival wins to earn, money is not the foremost thing on their mind. “ Money is secondary. We just want to tell out story and show that young people too can make good films,” says Kakodker, who is also a talented actor and played the second lead in the recent Konkani film Hanv Tum Tum Hanv which is said to be Goa's first science fiction comedy. Apart from this, Kakodker is also into making wedding films and ads as part of Narad Films which he started together with a friend. He has also recently completed the anthemn song for the NGO Save Life India
