After a long break of almost two years, and with the pandemic on the decline in Goa, tiatr directors thought it right to come out with their new productions on stage. Tiatr fans across Goa were equally hungry for live entertainment on the Konkani stage.
And, Easter releases followed one after another from different tiatr directors from April 17, 2022. The expectations from the tiatr audience were equally great, and tiatr directors tried their level best to give the best, with new releases to their audience.
But, all said and done, the sale of the product depended more on the quality than on the availability and quantity of artistes. And, tiatrs that carried a good script, direction, songs and comedy clicked with the tiatr-loving audience, thus paving way for the silver jubilee celebrations.
Tiatrs that touched the silver-jubilee mark included 8 Dis, Mhaka Ghoddlam Tem and Jevnnant Fator. The directors were comedian Selvy, comedian Sally and Roseferns, respectively.
Pradeep Naik, who played the lead role in comedian Selvy’s tiatr, 8 Dis, attributed the success of the tiatr to a good story and script, sleek direction, besides comedy and songs. He said he had a good role in the production which helped him to give his best, apart from winning a cash prize in villages for the character of a rickshaw driver.
“It was well accepted by the audience everywhere it was staged,” revealed Naik, “and it received overwhelming response in the villages. The Easter release would have crossed the silver jubilee mark way back if not for the unavailability of an auditorium in the city. On one or two occasions, the unexpected rains played spoilsport,” he grieved.
Meena Goes, an artiste in Roseferns’ tiatr, Jevnant Fator, said that the tiatr’s silver jubilee was celebrated in Paroda, Quepem, despite all odds on account of rains. “People liked the story and the comedy and several songs in the tiatr received encores from the audience,” she shared.
“Comedian Sally’s tiatr, Mhaka Ghoddlam Tem, could be termed as No 1 during the Easter season,” commented a tiatr-lover, Vincent Leitao from Chinchinim. “Although it had a small cast, yet it carried weightage in terms of storyline, songs and comedy,” he added.
“In order to draw more crowds, some of the tiatr directors make efforts to rope in noted actors, singers and comedians, but in the end, there’s nothing to deliver to the tiatr audience, who pay for the live entertainment on stage,” Leitao shared. “It’s always the same old story, with cheap comedy and low standard songs as well,” he said.