Tiatrist Evaristo Menino Mariano D’Silva
aka Mini Mario first stepped onto the tiatr stage at the tender age of nine in
Rosary Ferns’ village tiatr ‘Ghat Apleak Sontos Peleak’. Thereafter, his ‘ganv
bhav’ A M Pacheco brought him on the professional stage in his tiatr ‘Dhag’ at
the age of 10 years. Noticing his singing and acting skills, Premanand Lotlikar
welcomed this talented artiste into his tiatr ‘Loz Ani Dukh’, followed by
Menino de Bandar with his tiatr ‘Vizmit’.
From then onwards, Mini Mario made his appearance on stage as a permanent member of Roseferns’ dramatic troupe with the hit tiatr ‘Thapott’. He has performed for this seasoned director in almost 23 tiatrs. He was last seen in Roseferns’ tiatr ‘Jem Tujem Tem Mhojem’.
Mini Mario has, in fact, rendered his theatrical abilities to all professional directors including late Rosario Rodrigues, Mariano Fernandes, Prince Jacob, Mario Menezes, John D’Silva, Jack Ferry and Pascoal Rodrigues.
Having garnered enough knowledge and experience in vocals as well as acting, Mini Mario decided to pen down and direct his own tiatr. He staged his first tiatr, ‘Nit’, in several villages and it received a great response from the audience. Gaining confidence as a writer and director, this soft spoken artiste formed his own troupe with the tiatr ‘Adim Tum Atam Hanv’. Till date, he has penned and staged around 36 tiatrs, with prime focus on family issues.
“There are several problems being encountered by husband and wife, parents and children and in-laws on a day-to-day basis. We sometimes take those issues for granted. But when those burning topics are brought on stage, those among the audience watching our works let their emotions flow and reconcile with family members who have drifted away, physically as well as emotionally,” says Mini Mario.
Besides enacting any character on stage, Mini Mario is also excellent at singing songs, especially solos. He enjoys passing on powerful messages through his songs and, unlike some professional singers who borrow songs from others, this seasoned tiatrist enjoys writing and setting music to all his original compositions.
After quitting Roseferns’ dramatic troupe, Mini Mario acted in Patrick Dourado’s tiatr and was here where he minutely watched Dourado’s classic tiatrs. “This one time, I sang my original song to Patrick and he instantly guided me on how to come about with rhythms in songs,” discloses this tiatrist, adding, “When it comes to songs, I consider Patrick Dourado as my guru.”
When asked about the themes for his songs, he says, “If you read the Bible, you will get varied themes to work upon. Most of my songs are based on the teachings from the Bible. Reading newspapers and wisdom books inspires me to pen songs.” Mini Mario has 12 audio albums to his credit, with the latest being ‘Mhozo Award Tumi’.
As for acting, Mini Mario is comfortable with any role entrusted to him, be it lead, villain, comedian or any character role. “As I have the ability to sing and act, it is an added advantage for the director as hiring a single artiste for many tasks is easier on his budget,” he quips, confessing, “It goes against my conscience only to render songs on stage when I can also act and entertain the crowd.”
Mini Mario enjoys scripting his new tiatrs relevant to the new generation. And by doing so, he is, in a way, preparing them to develop a taste for tiatr. “I prefer to check the taste of the younger generation and choose topics which they can relate to and enjoy. It’s because somebody introduced me to the stage that I was noticed by others. If I don’t introduce the young blood today, how will their talents be exposed tomorrow?” inquires this director.
There’s always a new face in Mini Mario’s tiatrs and he likes to take up the challenge and create a hit by welcoming amateur artistes rather than banking on popular tiatrists.
“Scripting, directing and staging tiatrs is no difficult task. But the biggest hurdle is to produce it. Support from the contractors, politicians, priests and the audience of course, is important for the show to keep going,” he states.
This seasoned writer, director and performer does not enjoy direct criticism undertaken by present Konkani singers. “Politicians have their self-respect. Our singers of yesteryears never criticised others directly, but did so metaphorically, with pride. Our professional singers need to emulate them urgently in order to maintain the sanctity of the Konkani stage,” he signs off.