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Prashanti Talpankar: Indomitable Spirit
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Prashanti Talpankar: Indomitable Spirit

Uncategorized October 24, 2025 , by

By Rajan Narayan

Prashanti Talpankar’s Best Actor Award for the 30-minute Konkani short film Ancessao comes as no surprise. Her international recognition was long overdue. The award at the International South Asian Film Festival in Toronto follows her acclaimed performance in the *National Award-winning film *Baga Beach** — a searing portrayal of the baleful impact of tourism in Goa, where Prashanti plays the role of a grandmother.
For Prashanti, films are an extension of her activism — her complete identification with the underdog. Her very first film, Alesha, saw her play the widow of a mining truck driver, a role that reflected her empathy for the working class. Her latest award-winning film, Ancessao, celebrates solitude and captures the quiet pain of growing old alone in a small town. The melancholy is relieved not with self-pity or bitterness but with a sardonic sense of humour — entirely in keeping with Prashanti’s lifelong commitment to the underprivileged, the children of a lesser god.
Her journey began as a *student activist. I first met her when she went on a *hunger strike demanding the resignation of the then Speaker of the Goa Assembly, Dayanand Narvekar, who had been accused of molesting an 18-year-old staff member. The young Prashanti, then in her twenties, continued her fast until Narvekar resigned.
Later, she produced the first-ever study on migrants in Goa — a groundbreaking work at a time when migrant-bashing was a popular pastime. Her study, far from being judgmental, shed light on the sorry plight of migrants and was a genuine eye-opener.
Prashanti has also written *short stories for neo-literates, and worked tirelessly to create *awareness about dyslexic children.
As a *translator, she has made a lasting contribution to Konkani literature. Her translation of Shashi Deshpande’s *That Long Silence earned her the Sahitya Akademi Award for Translation in 2017.
An Associate Professor of Commerce and Accountancy, Prashanti has mentored generations of students, inspiring them not just through teaching but through the example of her own courage and integrity.
She has fought many battles — the most poignant being her fight against cancer. Though initially in shock, her indomitable spirit soon asserted itself. True to her nature, she chose transparency over secrecy, courage over fear. Rather than agonize over her falling hair, she embraced baldness with grace — and defiance.
Born in 1963, Prashanti continues to inspire at 60- year-plus — still challenging herself and countless Goans of all ages

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