Nov 10

Nov 10 Eric Ozario's Osmitay Celebrates Konkani Identity

November 10, 2023

A Global Indian Times Interview with Eric Ozario

by Ignatius Chithelen*

Konkani is a language spoken by some 2.5 million people, mainly along the central part of India’s west coast, known as the Konkan coast. It is the official language of the state of Goa and spoken by many residents of Mangalore, a coastal city in Karnataka state. It has been spoken by people in the region, including Hindus of all castes, Christians and Muslims, for at least eight centuries; the first known Konkani inscription dates to 1187.

Eric Ozario co-founded Mandd Sobhann (Beautiful State), a Konkani cultural organization based in Mangalore. While President of the Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy for three years, he played a key role in Konkani being approved as an optional language in schools in the state.

He set up Kalaangann, a cultural center. An environmental activist, in 2009 he protested the cutting down of trees in Mangalore.

Ozario, 72-years-old, wrote the story for the Konkani film Osmitay (Identity). He was also one of the film’s music composers.

The film explores the culture and history of the Konkanis, including their migration within India to Goa and Karnataka. The details are woven around a love story. Vivek, played by Ashwin D’Costa, was born into a Konkani-speaking family in the United States. He travels to Mangalore in search of his ancestral roots. There he meets and falls in love with Sushma (Wencita Dias), who is studying Konkani culture at the local university. They search and find Simav Peris Bhat (Dennis Monteiro), an artist and Konkani activist - a character similar to Ozario - who answers their questions.

Osmitay is directed by Vilas Ratnakar Kshatriya and the screenplay was written by Joel Pereira. Louis Pinto, who produced the film under Mandd Sobhann Productions, is also the distributor. Pinto develops apartment and office buildings, owns twelve Hi Spirits liquor bars and restaurants, several hotels, and a taxi service – all in and around Mangalore.

Osmitay will be shown in Vancouver, Canada, this Sunday, November 12; and at screenings organized by social activist Harriet Vidyasagar Silva, in Washington DC and New Jersey on December 2.

Ozario spoke to Global Indian Times about why and how Osmitay was made and his personal journey.

Global Indian Times: What are you trying to convey through Osmitay?

Ozario: Our identity is our culture. If we lose our identity, we lose everything.

I wanted to help create a film that made Konkanis proud of their identity, their language, their culture. My attempt was to show our rich traditions through the variety of music and folk dances which you find in Goa, Mangalore, and other parts of the Konkan coast.

GIT: How did the Idea come about?

Ozario: I’ve been working to help preserve and promote the Konkani culture for the past 35 years. I thought the best way to tell the World what I have to say is through a movie. I wrote the story about fifteen years ago with the goal of making it into a film.

GIT Why did it take so long to make the movie?

Ozario: Yes, it has taken me a long while to realize my dream. Our problem was finding the money. It held me back for so many years.

Meanwhile I developed health issues. A few years ago, the doctors found problems with my kidney. Now I undergo dialysis three times a week.

Last year, we decided to go ahead and make the film with whatever funds we could raise. Louis Pinto and I have worked together on cultural issues for about 35 years. He took on the role of producer and distributor. We made the film using funds raised from eight friends.

GIT Any prior experience in films?

Ozario: Each year there are only three or four Konkani films made, mostly in Goa. I had no experience as a filmmaker. Only as a singer. Mandd Sobhann once held the Guinness World Record for the longest singing marathon by multiple singers.

My only connection to filmmaking was being friends with the Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah. I met him while I was studying at the Roman Catholic seminary in Ajmer, India. In 2001, he inaugurated Kalaangann, a cultural center we built in Mangalore, where we show most of our work.

In 2010, we organized a 25-day Konkani cultural festival in Mangalore. It was inaugurated by the President of India. We had poetry, theater, screening of 40 old Konkani films, and seminars.

GIT Where did you go to school, college? What did you study?

Ozario: My education had nothing to do with filmmaking. After two years at the seminary, I gave up the idea of becoming a priest. I came back to Mangalore and earned a degree in commerce from St. Aloysius College.

I then worked for about ten years as an officer at Karnataka Bank, in and around Mangalore. I was sacked from the job for being a union organizer. For nearly two decades, I organized workers in independent unions and led their protests and strikes. I established the All India Church Employees’ Federation and also helped form a local All Unions’ Coordination Committee.

I got interested in promoting the Konkani language and culture, influenced by Chafra D’costa , a leading journalist, playwright and poet. In 1986, we founded Mandd Sobhann.

GIT: Some Catholic priests and historians say that Osmitay portrays an upper caste Brahmin view of Konkani history, ignoring that the Dalits and others have also spoken the language for centuries.

Ozario: We did not make a documentary. It is a work of fiction. We do not claim that the film is historically accurate. In fact, this is stated in a disclaimer in the film’s credits.

GIT How is Osmitay doing at the box office?

Ozario: Since September, the movie has had 390 screenings in 35 theaters in twenty countries. It has been shown in Mangalore, Goa, other towns along the Konkan coast, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and other Indian cities.

Also, in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Mississauga, San Francisco, Houston, Dublin, Cork, Adelaide, Melbourne, Nottingham, and other cities around the world, which have Konkani emigrants.

GIT: Assume you are also seeking distribution through Netflix, Amazon Prime?

Ozario: We are trying.

GIT: Will the story be published as a book?

Ozario: I have no plans to publish a book. I leave it to my associates. One of them might come forward and do so. For me, seeing that the movie was made is the ultimate satisfaction.