Bollywood has it's ways to glorify Goa. Stereotyping is perhaps one of the most popular of them
No matter how far across the world the hero and the heroine in a Hindi film may travel for the sake of their movie's plot, the state of Goa and its charm in the Indian film scene will never dwindle. Hopefully. Sure, a New York, a Venice or the city of Switzerland and Italy will make for a great background shot, but if you are an aam aadmi with abysmal savings, and no time or dosh to invest in a world tour, there is a possibility that you would prefer watching your favourite stars having a blast in a desi tourist destinations than a vilayati one, because, you know, easier to replicate perhaps.
Apart from its refreshing scenery and intoxicating beaches, Goa's inhabitants have charmed Bollywood's moviemakers and scriptwriters in many films. Here are five celluloid Goans you'll have met over the years.
The Modern Goan Girl
From Bobby to Saagar to Julie to , any movie set in Goa or with Goans in it has to have that one girl who wears mini-skirts/skirts, has an anglicised way of talking and is open about her sexuality or at least the idea of equal participation without trembling with coyness, feigned or real. Obviously, the moral police is out to get her once they find out that she has no sharam. But Bollywood has finally managed to grow up, as is obvious from Deepika Padukone's role in the film Finding Fanny.
Laxmi Narayan as Julie
The Dude
Who can miss this guy? He is the cool happy-go-lucky kind, flirts a lot, is smooth with the ladies, is impulsive and temperamental but is an emotional puppy at the end of the day. Remember Kamal Haasan in Saagar? Even Arjun Kapoor's character, though an oddball, has shades of the Goan Dude, the manic pixie boy with issues. Strangely, they all dress the same: denims, round neck shirts or perhaps a ganji under a loose t-shirt.
Kamal Haasan in the film Saagar
The Fisherman
He'd be seen rocking a paunch, striped skin tight shirt, a joke in the name of a lungi, a skull cap and will either be drunk throughout the film or perhaps a borderline alcoholic who loves to laugh. And feed. And eat. See for reference Bobby Braganza's father.
Prem Nath in the film Bobby
The God-Fearing Old Lady
A devout Christian who swears by Jesus and is mostly cynical if not overtly motherly, The God-Fearing Old Lady interferes in the lives of everybody else. Perpetually mixing up her genders, as is with all the Goans who for the life of them can't speak in Hindi or English in most Bollywood movies, this woman can be a powerhouse of subversive values set within limitations, but an inspiring character nonetheless. She can be comedic, as Leela Mishra playing Philomena Aunty was in Baaton Baaton Mein, or dramatic, like Leela Naidu as redoubtable matriatrch Dona Maria Souza-Soares in Trikal.
Leela Mishra in a still from Baton Baton Mein
The Baddie
Villainous Goans come in various shades and the blockbuster Amar Akbar Anthony has two such - mob boss Robert who will stop at nothing to save his own skin and bumbling henchman Zebisko who has a bone to pick with the hero, primarily because the woman both of them fancy refuses to settle with the villain and chooses the hero instead. Though The Baddie is often a great schmoozer, the ladies always see right through him because of his nefarious intentions which are, well, very conspicuous. Sometimes this guy has a backstory but given that most Bollywood plots are usually two-dimensional, the audience never manages to find out what happened to this guy which altered him life for the worst.
Yusuf Khan(left) as Zebisko in Amar Akbar Anthony