by Florine Roche
Daijiworld Media Network
Mangaluru, May 13: The much awaited Konkani film 'Sophiya' starring our Mangalurian girl and nationally acclaimed popular actor-singer-dancer Ester Noronha and produced by her mother Janet Noronha, costalwood’s first female film producer, was premiered on Friday, May 12 in the city.
The concept of lost memories has been one of the favourite themes of Indian film makers and some of the movies based on this theme have witnessed varied levels of success over a period of time. “Sophiya” – the dream girl.... produced under the banner “Janet Productions”, is also based on the theme of Amnesia. Janet Noronha debuted as a producer through this movie directed by Harry Fernandes, a well-known name in Bhjojpuri film industry and needless to the movie was eagerly looked forward to by Konkani ciniphiles.
Sophiya is in fact the second Konkani movie directed by Harry Fernandes , who is still basking under the success of the popular Konkani film “Noshibacho Khel” released a year ago, directed by him.
Though comparisons are odious there is always a tendency to compare a movie either to the director’s or actor’s previous movies and naturally “Sophiya” will be compared to some of the movies in regional languages especially Tulu films which are in fact creating quite a buzz in the film industry in the recent past. “Oriyardth Ori Asal’ proved to be a trendsetter for Tulu films and there have been a host of films in Tulu. Hope “Sophiya” will be able to set new trends as far as Konkani cinema is concerned.
Ivan (Elton Mascarenhas) a young businessman falls in love with Mumbai based Janet (Esther Noronha) and it was love at first sight for Ivan. Ivan is an orphan and he and his business is taken care of by his godparents (who are childless) and his godmother is his only family. Ivan first sets his eyes on Janet in Mumbai and luckily for him he happens to see her in a bus in Mangalore but could not get hold of her. He runs out of luck and by a quirk of fate Janet comes under the jeep of Ivan in an accident when he is on his way to the airport to go to Paris.
Since Ivan had to leave for Paris urgently somehow Ivan and his godfather Felix Quadros (played by Stany Alvares) convinces Dr Nelson not to file a police complaint of accident and allows him to go to Paris. This single mistake leads to so many twists and turns in the film story.
How Janet loses her memory and becomes “Sophiya” as per the game plan played by Ivan and his godparents and how the real story unfolds in this romantic thriller, forms the rest of tale of the film. Shelton Crasta performs the other role in this triangle. Stany Alvares, Royston Bolkunje, Francis Olivera, Alwyn Danthy and Floyed D Mello form the other major cast of the film.
The story of the film has the typical coastal penache and Konkani speaking people of this coastal region can easily identify themselves with the story and characters in the film. The fact that all the star crew hail from this part of the coastal region is sure to endear the movie to the cine goers.
The comeo part in the film is played by Pedru played by Goan comedian Prince Jacob, Seethamma (Frivita D Souza) and Richard Sequeira of “Memory” fame. Pedru and Seethamma work as cooks at Felix Quadros’s house and here too the love triangle is completed by Richard Sequeira. One may get a feeling that some of the comedy scenes in the movie are quite familiar (like the cracker mistaken as beedi) and even the tune filmed on Jacob and Seethamma also sounds familiar. But it is beautifully choreographed and amalgamated in this story in the film. Prince Jacob shows perfect timing for comedy.
Baby Annie could have been a little more bubbly .
The highlight of the movie is the six songs which are picturized and choreographed quite well. The songs are hummable and the tunes remain in the memory even after you come out of the theatre. The male voice sung by Gunwant Sen who is also the music director of 'Sophiya', has done a decent job and so as Ester who has rendered her voice for some songs in the film.
The lyrics are average and could have been better considering that lot of young talent is available in Konkani literature these days. The other female singer Roopasha also has done a decent job.
The shooting of the film has been done in different parts of the coastal districts of Mangalore and Udupi such as Palimar, Kundapura, Manipal, Mangalore and Chikkamagaluru and cinematographer Shafiq Sheikh has succeeded in giving a visual treat to the viewers by capturing the beautiful locales of this region and its scenic beauty.
On the whole “Sophiya” which has been promoted as a complete family entertainer does a honest job of entertaining viewers though the thriller factor has not injected enough thrill to given a thrilling feeling to the viewer.
As for a seasoned actor Ester carries the entire movie on her delicate shoulders as was expected of her considering her experience in the film industry and the exposure she has. She acts well, dances fabulously and has done a good job as a playback singer also. As the title suggests it is female-oriented film and she has shown her class as a multi-lingual actress. Her co star Elton Mascarenhas has amply showed his dancing prowess and has given life to his character with his liveliness. As a supporting actor Shelton Crasta has a limited role and the director has failed to extract the required emotions demanded by the role.
If the movie aims at bigger audience irrespective of religion and language the director could have done well to broad base his story by minimizing the religious aspect or importance given to it in the movie. .
To conclude Sophiya has excelled technically and has given a decent film for Konkani movie buffs to enjoy with the entire family. It is sure to spread the fragrance of Konkani beyond the frontiers of Karnataka following in the footsteps of Noshibacho Khel which has been released all over the world. Hats off to Janet Noronha for her brave efforts for debuting as a Konkani film producer.
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