MARGAO: The king of tragedy plunged Goa into deep tragedy on a day that will always be known as Black Saturday for Goa’s tiatr lovers. The Tiatr fraternity and tiatr lovers woke up to the sad news in the wee hours of Saturday, wherein veteran and versatile tiatr personality, popularly known as ‘Tragedy King’ of the Konkani stage and Vice-President of Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG) Mario Menezes (62) passed away in tragic circumstances
He along with 15 other tiatr artists was on the way to Mumbai to perform the tiatr ‘Tandllanchem Kestanv’, written by Pai Tiatrist Joao Agostinho Fernandes and directed by his colleague Menino de Bandar. Mario suffered a major heart complication on the train at Chiplun which he was travelling to Mumbai.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
The tiatrists were travelling to Mumbai and were crossing Chiplun in coastal Maharashtra, just six hours away from Mira Road, Mumbai where the first show was scheduled to be performed on June 25 at 6.30pm.
“After reaching Chiplun, Maharashtra he suddenly showed uneasiness and within no time he had breathed his last”, informed Menino de Bandar
He was soon taken to one of the private hospitals at Chiplun, where doctors declared him dead. Humbart, troupe member and senior tiatrist, who was with Mario on the train said that it was so sudden that nobody was able to do anything to save the life of their colleague.
His mortal remains reached Goa on Saturday night after completing all the formalities at Chiplun, and final rites will be held tentatively on June 29 or 30, informed one of his close relatives from Chinchinim.
Being part of the late Rosario Rodrigues troupe proved advantageous for him to bring out his acting talents. He played the tragic role of a brother in Rosario Rodrigues hit non-stop show ‘Fullam ani Kolle’ that brought tears to many Goan eyes. This was the turning point in earning him a title on the Konkani stage. Mario Menezes was crowned as the ‘Tragedy King’ of the Konkani stage.
He later turned out to be one of the best actors, directors, writers and singers, besides a leader who always worked hard for the betterment of Konkani stage and Konkani in general.
Not only the tiatr fraternity but people from all walks of life, including the Konkani movement, and at political level were shocked to hear the sad news of passing of this versatile tiatr personality. The news went viral on social media within a few hours followed by sharing posts about the shock people got after the sudden death.
Mario was Vice-President of Tiatr Academy of Goa, and who had recently released two books of his tiatr scripts. The people from Chinchinim, his hometown, are also in the grip of shock after they heard about the news. He was amongst the few tiatr artists who had concern not only for Konkani stage but for his mother tongue, Konkani Language.
Menino de Bandar, President of TAG and director of tiatr ‘Tandllanchem Kestanv’, said that Mario along with few other troupe members was travelling to Mumbai by train to perform the show.
Senior tiatrist C D Silva expressed shock and said that they have lost one of the hardest working and knowledgeable tiatr artists.
Former Benaulim MLA and Tiatr lover Churchill Alemao expressed shock over the sudden passing away of Mario Menezes. “He was a man of word and one of the dedicated tiatr directors. He worked very hard in order to raise his tiatr standard, through which he earned respect from the tiatr lovers. Mario was not only entertaining the audiences but guiding them in their life journey”, he stated.
Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai too expressed shock over the passing away of Menezes.
The last tiatr written and directed by him was ‘Thank You’. Sadly, this turned out to be his THANK YOU to all his fans. Few of his tiatr scripts are also published in book form such as ‘Uprant Roddon Kiteak Upkarta’, ‘Beiman Kir’, ‘Xirlo’, ‘Eke Fottik Xembhor Fotti’ etc. He had won several awards in the field of tiatr and Konkani literature.
He was awarded the prestigious Dalgado Cultural Award by Dalgado Konknni Academy, Dr Jack Sequeira award for best direction, Gulab award for best actor, director and writer and TAG awards also for acting, writing and directing.
He is survived by his wife Epiphania, daughter Rioma and Riosha.
TAG condoles death of its vice-president Mario Menezes
PANJIM: The vice president of the Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG), Tragedy King of the Konkani stage, Mario Menezes, passed away early morning of June, 25, 2022, at Chiplun, Maharashtra, while on his way to Mumbai to perform in Pai Tiatrist late João Agostinho Fernandes’ tiatr ‘Tandllanchem Kestanv’ tiatr. It is a shocking news for the entire tiatr fraternity and an immense loss to the tiatr stage. Tiatr industry lost a gem of a person in Mario Menezes. He was just 62 years old.
Born on May 29, 1960 Mario was a versatile tiatr artiste, a writer, director, producer actor and a singer. His art of delivering dialogues was brilliant and appreciated by tiatr lovers. He had a great fan following in Goa and elsewhere in India as well as in foreign countries, wherever he performed.
Author of seven books of Tiatrs in printed form, Mario Menezes was introduced to tiatr at the tender age of six as a child artiste. He has written and directed 52 tiatrs/Non-Stop dramas and has performed in more than 10,000 performances in Goa, rest of India and in foreign countries.
He was the recipient of many awards including Kala Academy Award, Tiatr Academy Awards, Dalgado Konkani Academy’s Cultural Award and 6 times Gulab’s prestigious awards, 3 times as best writer and three times as Best Director.
On behalf of the tiatr fraternity and tiatr lovers, Tiatr Academy of Goa deeply condoles the death of its beloved Vice President and expresses heart sympathies to his bereaved family and prays that the Almighty may give his soul eternal rest.
