Date:01/12/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/12/01/stories/2004120101721300.htm

National

Fun, feni and sands — exotic locale at home

By Mini Anthikad-Chibber

PANAJI, NOV. 30. When Matt Damon as the amnesiac assassin, Jason Bourne, finds himself on the sunny beaches of Goa with the lovely Franke Potente for company in `Bourne Supremacy,' the sequel to the `Bourne Identity,' the fun, feni and sands revelled in its "international village" identity.

Director Paul Greengrass, who came to Goa in the sixties as a hippy, always wanted to shoot here. The opening sequence was shot in Panjim and the thrilling car chase, which dramatically ends with the car going off the bridge, used several second-hand Maruti gypsies. As Bourne leaves Goa from the Panjim bus stand, you get a feel of the real India, not one overrun by snakes and elephants.

`The Bourne Supremacy,' however, does not find a place in the Films Shot in Goa section of Glimpses of Indian Cinema, a photo exhibition at the 35th International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

The films that do find a mention include `Bobby,' Raj Kapoor's paean to young hearts running free, `Julie,' where the Anglo-Indian community of the original Malayalam `Chattakari' is transplanted to Goa, and `Dil Chahta Hai' where the three young men, Akash, Sameer and Sid take off on a holiday to Goa, with a promise of returning every year.

Quintessential Goan

Mr. Braganza in `Bobby,' played with much gusto and zest by Premnath was the quintessential Goan living by the credo of eat, drink, and be merry. `Vidhaata (1982),' Subhash Ghai's take on `The Godfather' was also shot in Goa.

Pankaj Parashar used Goa as the backdrop for two films — `Jalwa' (1987) where Naseeruddin Shah built up muscle to become Axle Foley, in a desi version of `Beverly Hills Cop' and `Chaalbaaz' where Sridevi stepped into Hemamalini's `Seeta Aur Geeta' shoes.

The ultimate romantic movie of the eighties, `Ek Dhuje Ke Liye,' had the linguistically divided couple pledge their love on the beaches of Goa.

In recent times, there was `Josh' (2000) where director Mansoor Khan apart from the rather bizarre decision of casting Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan as siblings chose to recreate Baz Luhrmann's Verona Beach of `Romeo + Juliet' in Goa.

While most filmmakers dash off to the Swiss Alps and New Zealand to shoot the all-important song sequences, Goa is a good option for a taste of the exotic at home.