Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SB)
Mangaluru, Oct 8: The coastal city of the intelligent and a relaxed tourist haven is known for its unique culture and lifestyle, making it one of the best coastal locations to dwell in. Its tranquillity in the last few years, though, has been alternating with disruptions, tainting its image.
Bearing in mind these developments, a Mumbai youth of Mangalurean origin has made a three-and-half minute video exquisitely bringing forth the beauty of Mangaluru, a side that gets far outweighed by the bad because of negative promotion. Through his video, he tries to show the world what Mangaluru is really about.
Luke Sydney was born and brought up in Mangaluru. He was raised in a traditional Mangalurean household. His parents Merlin Sulatha and Ronnie Sydney continue to be residents of the beautiful city. Luke moved out of the city while growing up. Yet Mangaluru, he says, has always been home to him.
Luke moved back to Mangaluru for his further studies and graduated from St Aloysius College.
His interest in movies grew on him in childhood. He has always been keen about anything related to films. In 2009, he managed to make a career out of his interest and got into ad filmmaking in Mumbai and started directing in 2010.
The true Mangalurean in Luke wanted to showcase the beauty of the simple city he loved to the world. After the idea of making the film took shape, Luke delved into online sources for insights on the city. To his surprise, he found plenty of videos portraying it in a bad light.
There were lots of videos promoting Mangaluru too, he says, but looking at it from a film maker’s perspective, he was disappointed, as the videos did not come close to the soul of the city, and were poorly shot on average cellphone cameras.
"When people think about Mangaluru, they should think of the clean, beautiful beaches. In fact, we have some of the best beaches on this side of the coast. People should talk about the wonderful flavours our cuisine has to offer. Till date, many of my friends rave about the Mangalurean food they tried during their visit here," he says.
What shocks him most is that the city, though beautiful and full of life and a culinary treasure, has had very few people hear about it.
As a filmmaker, Luke thought it was not only his passion but responsibility to showcase the true essence of the city for the world to see.
Luke's journey
Knowing that he could not get funding of any kind for the film, Luke invested his own money towards making the film. The city had a lot to offer, and it was essential for him to capture the best in it and show it to the world. But it was not an easy task; he spent the first 15 days just walking around and getting a feel of the city, talking to various citizens and restaurant owners and just noting down their opinions and views, and understanding what locations were suitable for the film.
Once he had an idea in mind and essential details of what needed to be done, he needed a team. Rahul P K, Kunj Gutka, Amit Kumar and Mahesh, Senna Hegde and Pritam D’Souza, Jayps Rao, Suraj Sk Saan, Allan Fernandes, Niket Sharma, Gururaj MB, Salian Yathish, Yogi Dholakia, helped Luke in various departments in making the film.
The film was shot at some attractive places in city including Someshwar Beach, Bunder Dock Yard, Panambur Beach, Ideal Ice-cream Parlour and Restaurant, Jeppu, Mangala Restaurant, Sri Devi Nursing Home Canteen at Karangalpady Circle, Bombay Lucky, Seethanna Charmuri and Bhelpuri stall outside St Aloysius College, Giri Manja Restaurant, St Joseph Bakery, Janata Hotel, and Dinoo’s Restaurant.
The video captures the life of Mangaluru as it truly is - open blue skies, sprawling beaches, mouth-watering cuisine, and of course, the essential Pili Vesha - all these form the crux of Mangaluru's charm, and have been beautifully brought out in Luke's video, where the traditional is amalgamated with the modern with subtlety and splendour. Nature and urban atmosphere coupled with a sense of the true-blue Mangalurean culture is what makes this video special.
Watch the video here: