The Myth About Goan Stereotypes in Bollywood

The Myth About Goan Stereotypes in Bollywood

(Published in The Navhind Times on 10th Oct. 2014)

To continue with the issue of Goan stereotypes in Bollywood films, which came up again with the release of Finding Fanny (you can read the previous article here, here are some more thoughts on it. Let me argue, in effect, that the myth of the Goan stereotype flows not so much from the sins of Bollywood, as from a fiction that persists because it is so much easier to lay the blame on Bombay.

Caricatures and stock characters feature in cinema, TV and the stage, not just in India but beyond as well. True, they tend to stand out in Bollywood because Hindi films are a source of relatively unsophisticated entertainment. But when a serious film maker takes up a potentially contentious socio-cultural subject, they can do an admirable job with the same material. In the context of Goa, a case in point would be Shyam Benegal’s films: there is little fault you can find with either Bhumika or Trikaal. 

There is no need for me to elaborate on the uniqueness of Goa. It has been a favorite holiday destination for decades and its popularity continues to grow, both among tourists and as a film destination. Over the years, more than 125 films have been shot here and, among this year’s releases alone, there’s Singham 2, Kick, Hate Story 2, Yaariyan, Lekar Hum Deewana Dil, Ek Villain (in which Remo plays a don), 3 a.m, Youngistaan, Jackpot, Finding Fanny, all of which were shot in Goa, and 2014 is not over yet.

So clearly, Goa remains the Number One state for film makers and they all have a soft corner and love for the place, or else why would they be here?  It’s unlikely they come in droves to Goa and squander millions of rupees only in order to mock and misrepresent local characters.

Now, if a Bollywood film maker wants Christian characters in her film, she largely has two options on where to set it: Bandra or Goa.  The general perception is that Goa is a Christian majority state, which it once was though this is no longer factually correct. This misconception may still remain because the decline in Christian population has been gradual over the years without any upheaval in society compared to, say, the changing demographic realities of Kashmir. Once upon a time, plenty of romantic films were shot in Kashmir Valley but, after terrorism took centre-stage, most films set in the Vale have been about conflict (Shaurya, Yahaan, Tahaan, Lamhaa, Mission Kashmir, Sikander, Lakshya and recently Haider). Amusingly and somewhat tragically, Yeh Jawaani Hain Deewani was shot in Kashmir but its scenic beauty was passed off as Manali. 

But in Goa, the transition to a non-Christian demographic has been so smooth that, outside the state, not many have noticed it.

If you take the portrayal of the Christian community as a whole in Hindi cinema, then for every vamp played by Helen (Helen Richardson; of Anglo-Burmese origin, I hasten to add) and others, there have been memorably sweet and noble Christian characters as well - John Chacha who takes two little children under his wings in Boot Polish (1954); Lalita Pawar, better known for her evil roles, played a motherly Mrs. D’Sa to Raj Kapoor in Anari (1959); and if anyone says Nancy and Tony in the same breath, then Amol Palekar and Tina Munim from Baton Baton Mein (1979) spring to mind.

But let’s look specifically at the Goa angle, and the common accusation that Goans are portrayed as drunkards.  

Just a quick mise-en-scène before we get to the point. The cultural fascination with drinking, and the lyrical and metaphorical elements of intoxication, are as old in this part of the world as this part of the world itself. From the Persian poet Omar Khayyam, to Mir, Mirza Ghalib and Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s Madhushala, to contemporary poets like Bashir Badr, much philosophizing has emerged from, and about, the Cup that “clears Today of past Regrets and future Fears”. It is no surprise that Hindi films have romanticized drinking in tragedy, comedy and in song, sometimes as an act of despair or rebellion, often as a metaphor, occasionally with a touch of astuteness to the lyrics, like Zindagi Khwaab hain Khwaab mein (picturized on Motilal playing the almost perfect screen drunk in Jagte Raho, 1956).

There have been songs on characters that are contemplating drink, drunk, or in the process of getting there. From vintage hits like HuiSham Unka Khayal Agaya (Mere Hum Dum Mere Dost), Jo unki tamanna hai (Inteqam) to Bachchan’s Thodi si jo pe lee hain (Namak Halaal), and songs from Shaarabi to Nana Patekar and Raj Kumar going overboard in Tiraanga (Pe lee pe lee) to Ganpat chal daaru la, the list of drinking songs in Hindi cinema is endless.

How many have been damaging to Goa and Goans, I wonder.

I can think of one: Pran frolicking in a bar in Majboor, singing “phir na kehna Michael daru peeke danga karta hai”. No other song has given the impression that Goans are drunkards as this Laxmikant Pyarelal composition may have, but this really is an exception.  

Keshto Mukherjee was the quintessential drunkard of Hindi films. He played a comic alcoholic in over 100 films and, barring Chupke Chupke (where he played a character named James), he never portrayed a drunken Goan. 

Another important stereotype to consider would be women who are shown drinking alcohol in Hindi films. For a society that is otherwise so traditional, inebriated women have been singing on screen for ages.  Who can forget Meena Kumari’s Na JaoSaiyyan (Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam), Waheeda Rehman’s Rangeela re (Prem Pujari), to contemporary girls going Talli and the brilliant revival of Maine hothon se lagaye to (originally from Anhonee, made popular by Queen).  There have been female tipplers like Helen’s Monica in Caravan, but how many sloshed women characters can you recall from a film set in Goa? I couldn’t think of a single one.  

Even Helen’s Kitty Kelly in Gumnaam (the famous Gum chodke manao rang reli was shot on Vagator beach) says “Mujhe Shaarabi pasand hain sharaab nahin.”

Beyond Hindi film tropes, one could argue that Goa’s association with alcohol comes from the simple fact that, for a population of 14 lakhs, the state has close to 9000 bar licenses. Compare this with a city like Bangalore: Goa has a fraction (15%) of Bangalore’s population of 96 lakhs, but almost four times the number of bars (Bangalore has 2500). So there is one bar per 155 persons in Goa compared to one bar per 4000 people in Bangalore. 

Bollywood didn’t make that up.

The fact is Hindi cinema is also changing for the better, and even middle-brow films have a mature understanding of the world they did not possess in the days our youth. There have been none of these imagined ‘Goan stereotypes’ in Hindi films these last couple of decades, though many films were shot in Goa during this time. Even before that, there isn’t a great deal of evidence to suggest otherwise. 

Here are some of the films set in Goa over the years –  it would be a challenge to find the typecasts in it – Jaal (1952, dir. Guru Dutt), Saat Hindustani (1969, Dir. K.A. Abbas and Amitabh Bachchan’s first film which incidentally was about the liberation of Goa), Bhumika (1977, Dir Shyam Benegal, based on Hansa Wadkars story), Ek Duje ke Liye (1981, Dir. K Balachander one of the earliest films that showed the landmark places and popularized them all over the country), Trikaal (1985, Dir. Shyam Benegal, Mario Cabral E Sa was a script-consultant ), Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1994, Dir. Kundan Shah)  Khamoshi (1996, Dir. Sanjay Leela Bhansali), Honeymoon Travels (2007,Dir. Reema Kagti),   Dil Chahata Hain (2001, Dir. Farhan Akhtar, only a small segment was set and shot in Goa but since then, every tourist wants to visit Vagator fort), My Brother Nikhil (2005, Dir Onir, based on the life of Dominic D’Souza, Goa’s first HIV patient), Guzaarish ( 2010, Dir Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Hrithik played a quadriplegic named Ethan Mascarenhas),  Singham (2011, Dir. Rohit Shetty who has shot almost all his films in Goa).

Where are the stereotypes?

First published in The Navhind Times on 10th Oct 2014

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Desperately Seeking Stereotypes(but Finding Fanny)

Published in The Navhind Times on 27th Sept. 2014

The release of Finding Fanny and the fact that the story is based in Goa has brought an old non-issue back to the fore: the portrayal of Goa and Goans by Bollywood. Although a couple of dozen Hindi films are shot in Goa every year, the treatment of Goa by Bollywood raises hackles time and again, like it did with Dum Maro Dum and Go Goa Gone in recent times.

Just as a reminder, Dum Maro Dum had Abhishek Bachchan playing a cop who takes on the drug mafia (which existed then, and exists now), but the fact that an attempt was made to highlight that topical issue was not the focus of criticism at all. The uproar was about a line which Bipasha Basu uttered in the movie, and those who have seen the film know very well it was taken out of context. The film – even before it was released – saw protests, and the matter was even discussed in the Assembly. Some women’s group protested and put up a banner outside INOX which said, “Bollywood b**bs coconut size, brains peanut size”, which was far more offensive than anything Goan that Bollywood has portrayed in its chequered history.

Go Goa Gone was a zombie story set in Goa, and even before the film’s release there was a hue and cry about it. “Is the director trying to show that there are zombies in Goa?” asked an ultra-sensitive Goan in a letter published in the local newspaper. He would perhaps have been perfectly happy if the zombies were in Delhi or Darjeeling. But Goa is a no entry zone for zombies.        

The French author Jules Renard once said, 'Look for the ridiculous in everything, and you will find it'. Given today’s scenario of people getting offended at the drop of a hat, I would simply replace ‘ridiculous’ with ‘offensive’ in that statement. 

As for the fuss over Finding Fanny, let me quote from an editorial in a local daily which said, “Hello Bollywood, Goans of today live in penthouses, lavish bungalows and drive Audis and BMWs too and holiday in Thailand!” which the writer no doubt considered a devastating critique of Homi Adjania’s film. That ‘Goans of today’ live such a lifestyle is indeed news to me, and perhaps to all those who are reading this. The acclaimed Konkani film Paltodcho Munis (The Man Across the Bridge) didn’t have any Audis or BMWs in it either, but some people get riled up only when Bollywood doesn’t show proper reverence for Audi-driving penthouse-living Goans.

And therein lies the problem. What exactly is the ideal or accurate portrayal of a Goan that would please everyone? Should a Goan man never be shown drinking, or a woman wearing a skirt in any film ever?  Is there an archetypal, acceptable Goan according to those who criticize Bollywood’s portrayal of this entity? Hindi films have portrayed and often lampooned communities from all over India, but I don’t quite see Tamilians or Punjabis endlessly debating how and whether they are accurately depicted in Hindi movies. 

A lot of these false notions are propagated when facts go unchecked and when people who don’t know the subject speak or write about it with more passion than sense. On social media and online forums, everyone has an opinion but very few have the facts.

If someone writes about, say, cryogenic technology, you assume the person is either an expert or has some knowledge of the subject, but that doesn’t apply to culture and certainly not to films. On this matter, everyone is an expert. It’s a myth that Bollywood stereotypes Goa, and this stereotype doesn’t originate from Bollywood but from the very people who buy into the myth without evidence. 

Fairly typical of this mindless myth-making is a piece that appeared on the NDTV website  which talks about ‘Five Goan characters you know well.’ The article is plain drivel because three of the five films mentioned in it – Baton Baton Mein (a memorable film by Basu Chatterjee set in Mumbai), Julie (the story of an Anglo-Indian family, remake of a Malayalam film - Chattakari) and Amar Akbar Anthony – have nothing to do with Goa or Goans. 

The fourth, Premnath in Bobby, is described as a Goan with a “paunch, striped skin tight shirt, a joke in the name of a lungi, a skull cap.” Now, this sounds plausibly stereotyped, until you ask yourself: “When was the last time I saw a Goan depicted in this unusual manner in a Hindi film?” Only in Bobby, obviously, because that was probably the only time such a character was shown in a Hindi movie. Premath’s Jack Braganza may be a character and his appearance is certainly striking, but how exactly is he a ‘stereotype’? 

The same applies to the fifth film, Saagar, where Kamal Hasan’s character is supposed to be typecast. Incidentally, the character’s name is Raja, but for some unfathomable reason the NDTV article lists him as a Goan stereotype. 

It is a misconception that every woman in a Hindi movie who wears a skirt is Goan, but this idée fixe exists in the minds of many. 

Julie, for instance, is the story of an Anglo-Indian family which is obviously not the same thing as a Goan family. This fallacious identification of Indian Christians with ‘Goans’ is a trope that doesn’t necessarily have currency outside Goa. (There are Peters, Roberts, Monas and Lilys from Mangalore to Mizoram, but this is conveniently overlooked, not least by those who criticize Bollywood). 

It is also a fact that there was a time when Hindi films gave the impression there were only Christians in Goa or, at least, that Goa was a Catholic dominated state. This impression, unfortunately, continues to remain in the minds of people who are not in sync with either Hindi films or reality.]

True, Bollywood is not particular known for doing a great deal of research, but if you go by the malcontents’ view, you would think they are all out gunning for Goans. ‘The least Homi Adajania and his co-screen writer Kersi Khambatta could do is, spent a few months, learning, respecting and appreciating Goan culture and civilized lifestyle,’ said the editorial in the Goan daily. If only the edit writer had done a bit of homework, or stayed back till the end credits had rolled to see that the film makers indeed had a consultant in Goa to ensure they got the details right. They brought on board Cecil Pinto, arguably one of Goa’s finest humor columnists – and a thoroughbred Goan – for his inputs. 

Interestingly, Cecil had written, many years ago, a very insightful piece on the subject of Goan stereotypes which you can read here. 

To come back to Finding Fanny, the film was conceived in 2009 and Cecil was a part of the project since then. His services were on tap during the shooting of the film in Goa. Some parts were altered and the script was fine-tuned as per his suggestions, and many new details were incorporated.  

But hey, he forgot to recommend the Audi, the BMW and the penthouse, which apparently are the hallmarks of Goa these days.    

In a dismal misconception of life in Goa, the editorial further claims, “even homemakers get their chicken and fish cleaned in the market itself” (the last time I checked, Goa also had villages, some quite like Fanny’s fictional ‘Pocolim’) and “the use of non-inverted verbs in every question like “You’re ok no, Ferdie?” and “What man?”” was ‘sickening’, as if everyone here is a descendant of the Wren & Martin family of grammarians.

The fact is that Bollywood has evolved and changed considerably. But some people, unevolved themselves, fail to observe that the world outside does not always conform to their suspicions and prejudices.  

There are several films shot or set (sometimes both) in Goa that give lie to these mythical stereotypes, but more about these films and their characters in my column next fortnight.

Published in The Navhind Times on 27th Sept. 2014

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