26 Jul 2022  |   06:06am IST

Comedian Selvy will make Goans laugh no more

The loss of Comedian Selvy has created a void in the hearts and minds of tiatr lovers. Known for his no holds barred comedy and gestures, his presence will be missed by a huge generation of fans. Herald pays tribute to this versatile actor par excellence, Comedian Selvy

Pio Esteves

W

hen death knocks on your door, you cannot miss, dodge or escape it. It has to be welcomed as it comes. Exactly after a month since noted tiatr director Mario Menezes passed away, noted comedian of the Konkani stage, comedian Selvy succumbed to his brief illness at the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC), Bambolim, on Monday.

Comedian Selvy was under treatment at GMC for more than a fortnight, after he suffered from low diabetes and low hemoglobin. The doctors at the hospital tried to give their best service, to the extent, that his diabetes was brought under control. But the doctors at the GMC had informed that his hemoglobin was still low and through several tests carried out, they were trying their best to stabilize it as well. But emergency dawned wherein fresh blood was required, which included AB+, A+, B+ and donors were ready to offer blood to save Goa’s popular comedian. But as the saying goes, ‘God’s ways are not our ways’. Comedian Selvy’s passing away at Bambolim sent shock waves not only across the state, but overseas as well. The tiatr fraternity has lost another talented artiste, who produced a laugh riot among the audience by his histrionics and body language.

Matheus Correia, popularly known as Comedian Selvy on the tiatr stage, was born on February 21, 1974, in Velim, Salcete. Several gifted comedy actors have dominated the tiatr stage and one among them was Comedian Selvy. He carved a special niche in the hearts of his audience, including children and youth. It was sheer hard work and excellence as a comedian in the tiatr field that brought him laurels and high praise from tiatr directors and spectators.

Comedian Selvy made his entry in the tiatr field by acting in khell tiatrs. And for some time, he worked in a non-stop tiatr of Tony Park. He joined John D’Silva’s troupe in his tiatr, ‘Vatt’, and continued with the troupe for five years. Till date, Comedian Selvy has acted in several tiatrs of noted directors like John D’Silva, Roseferns, C D’Silva, Pascoal Rodrigues, late Mario Menezes, Comedian Sally, Milagres de Chandor, late Rosario Rodrigues, F Cardozo and Samuel Carvalho. Before emerging as a tiatr director, Comedian Selvy was part of Comedian Agostinho’s troupe and acted in almost 23 productions. He made his first entry in the tiatr, ‘Sir’ and concluded with ‘Pai’.

Comedian Selvy acted and rendered songs in several of Comedian Agostinho’s tiatrs, which include ‘Police’ (Part I & II), ‘Public’, ‘Advogad’, ‘Jem Favonam Tem Mevonam’, ‘Godfather’, ‘Dotor’, ‘Corruption Kobar?’, ‘Hem Amchem Ghor’, ‘He Kaide Konnem Keleat’ and several others. As a tiatr director, he staged only two tiatrs, namely ‘Raza Jeita Kombo Choita’ and ‘8 Dis’, both of which were well acclaimed by the audience. Comedian Selvy’s latest tiatr ‘8 Dis’ staged in 2022, soon after the decline of the pandemic, received appreciation from the audience and it celebrated its silver jubilee on May 29 at Sao Jose de Areal. The tiatr continued due to demand from the audience and it was scheduled to be staged at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao, on July 31.

He also acted in about 200 VCDs and produced five VCDs, which include ‘Bekar Louddi’, ‘Second Hand’, ‘Garbage’ and ‘Wrong Number’. As a comedian, he has rendered songs in around 25 audio CDs. As a comedian and singer, Comedian Selvy also toured United Kingdom, France, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain, and enthralled the audience wherever he went, by his acting prowess.

For his contribution towards the Konkani stage as a comedian, Comedian Selvy was felicitated with ‘Gulab’ and ‘Jack de Sequeira’ awards. Along with several other personalities, he was also the recipient of the Yuva Surjan award from the Art and Culture department in 2011-12.

Actor Pradeep Naik, who was part of Comedian Selvy’s troupe in his latest tiatr ‘8 Dis’, said that the news was very shocking and unbelievable, as he had planned to meet Comedian Selvy at GMC in the afternoon inorder to donate blood. He said that he had discussed with the GMC doctors about the same. “Goa has lost one of the best and eminent personalities of the tiatr stage. I have lost a very good and understanding brother of my tiatr family. May his soul rest in peace,” Naik told

Herald

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Comedian Selvy was part of Comedian Agostinho’s troupe for quite a long period, until the latter decided to move to UK, seeking greener pastures. When Mario Menezes passed away, Comedian Agostinho had said that people are grieved by the loss of an artiste who would make people sad by tragic roles. “Today, people are sad as there’s a loss of a comedian, who made people laugh to their heart’s content,” he said.

“No doubt, we are all born to die one day,” Comedian Agostinho said, “but when there’s a loss of someone dear to your heart, the pain is unbearable.” “Tomorrow we may have better comedians than Selvy, but the tiatr stage will never ever get our Selvy back again,” he bemoaned.

Taking note of the unexpected departure of Comedian Selvy, noted tiatr director Roseferns said that he was a kind human being and undoubtedly a loving comedian and was very creative on stage. He never saw him losing his temper with any of his fellow artistes on stage. Comedian Selvy acted in almost 20 tiatrs of Roseferns, all staged during the monsoon season. “And probably he would have been in my 100th production scheduled in August. But we must accept God’s will as His ways are always different from ours,” he said.

The untimely demise of comedian Selvy has created a void in the hearts of the comedians on the Konkani stage. “His departure is shocking and a big loss to the tiatr stage. He was found always smiling and the audience would laugh at his mere presence on stage,” stated Prince Jacob, former president of the Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG).

“We have lost one of the finest comedians on the tiatr stage,” said Menino de Bandar, president of TAG, “and it will be very difficult to fill the vacuum created by the loss.” “He entertained the audience by his comic acts and songs and was the favourite of young and the old. May his soul rest in peace and may his family find strength to face the loss,” he added.

Tomazinho Cardozo, tiatr director and former president of TAG, said, “Selvy was a great comedian of the Konkani Tiatr stage. His mere presence on the stage would make tiatrgoers laugh. His body language and mannerism on stage made him a natural comedian. He was so popular among the tiatr lovers that his name itself could attract people to witness the tiatr, in which he acted. I have seen him doing a variety of roles in different tiatrs. Even among two or more comedians on the stage at a time, he always stole the show with his unique gestures and gesticulations. A good human being in real life, he left us at a very young age. May his soul rest in peace.”