Ester Noronha

Background

Ester Noronha was born to Valerian Noronha and Janet Noronha in Bahrain. Due to the interest Ester showed in music and dance at a very young age, her mother gave up her career and came down to Mangalore along with Ester, where Ester continued her schooling while simultaneously pursuing training in piano, Bharatnatyam, Carnatic singing, guitar and also performing in live shows in Konkani language at the age of 9. She then became very popular as a child artist and performer among the Mangalorean Konkani community and went on to perform in numerous shows locally and abroad, delivering several hit numbers and participating in albums and shows of all the top composers and musicians in Konkani language.

Ester was brought up in Mangalore between years 2000-2008. She attended St. Gerosa school, Jeppu, Mangalore between 3rd to 10th std during which she accomplished quite a few things in the field of arts too. She completed 8 grades in Piano from the Trinity college of London, Senior grade in Bharatnatyam from the KSEEB (Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board) And also performed the 'Rangapravesha 'in Bharatnatyam.

She completed the junior grade in Carnatic singing from the KSEEB and also performed the "Rangapravesha" in the same.

Ester is the first artist in Dakshina Kannada district to have performed Rangapravesha in both Bharatnatyam and Carnatic singing.

At the age of 14, she established her independent musical live show with the title "Ester Show" which was in aid of the Mangalore Diocesan Medical relief fund.

Ester was a bright student academically and passed the 10th std with a distinction. Due to her interest in the social sciences and her drive to do something for the society, she dreamed on getting into civil services for which she planned on pursuing her studies in Arts. She along with her mother then shifted to Mumbai where she joined the prestigious St. Xaviers college under the merit list. She went on to Graduate as a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Psychology subjects.

Even as she shifted to Mumbai she continued to keep training in music and dance and shows whenever possible. During the college phase she got trained in Hindustani singing under Ustad Hafiz Khan, Mumbai. She produced and released her maiden audio album in Konkani titled 'Ester's "Kalza Thaun"(from the heart)' comprising 10 songs composed and sung by herself at the age of 16.

It was during one of her Bharatnatyam shows in Bangalore, that the legendary Bollywood choreographer Saroj Khan laid her eyes upon Ester. She noticed the talent and the potential in her and advised her to try her luck in films. Ester went on to get trained in Kathak and Bollywood dancing under Saroj Khan for around 2 yrs during which she got introduced to the world of movie making and related people.

Ester then joined Anupam Kher's 'Actor Prepares',the school of acting where she completed her Diploma course in acting.

Career

Ester was initially hesitant about getting into films as an actor as that field was yet to be explored by her. During this time was when her Guru, Saroj Khan offered her to work in a non- commercial Hindi movie "Baromas" she herself was choreographing. Ester, along with her mother's support and her Master's insistence, took it up. Baromas went on to be played and nominated in various countries and film festivals around the world including the 2012 South Asian International Film Festival in New York City and the DCIFF (DC Independent Film Festival) in Washington, DC. It was the only Indian movie to be selected and competing in feature films category against films from United States, Switzerland, UK and Canada. She was then cast by the renowned Director Teja in his Telugu movie "1000 Abaddalu" in 2013 which went on to be a hit and Ester was immediately signed by the prestigious 'Suresh Productions' for their Golden jubilee project "Bhimavaram Bullodu" opposite Hero Sunil (actor). The project was in celebration of the 50th year of the production house and it turned out to be a massive hit completing 50 successful days in theaters across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana thus making Ester Noronha popular and loved by the audience in the Telugu film industry (Tollywood).

Ester then debuted in Sandalwood (Kannada Films) with the movie "Usirigintha neene hattira" produced by the famous "Mungaru Male" movie banner ' E K Entertainers'. It was released in 2014 and introduced Ester to the Kannada movie makers and audiences.

Meanwhile, she is working in a few projects in different languages marking her debut in a few new industries. She is making a commercial entry into Bollywood in a project by the 'One 2 ka 4' famed Director Shashilal Nair which is currently undergoing post-production. She is debuting in Marathi films with the film "Majhi Aashiqui" with Director Pravin Karle of "Maan Sanman" fame. She will be seen in a special appearance and the title song choreographed by the Salman Khan starrer "Jai Ho" fame Jani master in the Telugu movie "Garam" alongside hero Aadi of "Lovely" fame. She will also be seen in the Kannada movie "Local Train" opposite hero Sunil Nagappa popularly known as Krishna of Madarangi fame. She is in support of the uplifting of her mother-tongue Konkani and is contributing by supporting one of the first efforts to make a full-fledged commercial Mangalorean Konkani movie "Noshibacho Khell" by acting in it. She will mark her debut in Tamil films this year with an untitled project which will go on floor shortly.

Playback singing

Ester has evolved as a singer over the years and is now venturing into playback singing. She rendered her voice for a Konkani movie "Nachom-ia Kumpasar" ('Let's dance to the rhythm') for the song 'Meu Amor'. The movie is based on the lives of two jazz musicians, Chris Perry and Lorna. The film, which takes its title from the name of a song by the two artists, was directed by Bardroy Barretto.The story is told through over 20 popular Konkani songs from the 1960s and 1970s that have been re-recorded for this film. The film is set in the 1960s and is a tribute to the'unsung' Konkani musicians of that era. At the 62nd National Film Awards, the film won two awards and a special mention. The film won the award for the best feature film in Konkani. The film also won Lebara Play Audience Choice Award for best film at London Indian Film Festival 2015. Nachom-ia Kumpasar was also included in the shortlist for the 2016 Oscars.

Ester is debuting as a playback singer in Marathi films with the movie "Majhi Aashiqui" in which she is debuting as an actress too. The movie is in the making of currently.

Advertisements and endorsements:

Ester Noronha has been the face for a few products and jewellery brands in Chennai and Cochin namely:

Live Shows Ester has been performing in musical shows around the Globe in various countries like Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait etc. She recently went on a musical tour to USA and Canada in September- October 2015.

Education

Ester has always continued her education and is currently pursuing 2nd year in M.A in Political Science under the University of Mumbai.

Awards

Ester has been conferred the "Kala Rathna" award by Githanjali institution, Mangalore for excellence in fine arts in 2015.