One among the Hindu brethren that have enriched the quality
of tiatr is Pradeep Naik from Carambolim, who is mostly seen in lead or
dominant roles. More than his dialogue delivery, it’s his body language that
speaks volumes about the character he is essaying.
Coming from a humble family, Pradeep was born and brought up
at his maternal residence in Morjim. His grandfather, Pandurang Mayenkar, was a
noted director of Marathi plays. “Amateur artistes from the village and
neighbouring areas groomed under his mantle, and rehearsals for dramas for
local festivals were held at his residence,” informs Naik.
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Mayenkar sharpened the reading skills of his grandchild with
the help of Marathi newspapers as he believed that besides acting skills, voice
modulation and articulation was equally important to be an effective stage
artiste. “My grandpa would say that the audience in the first three rows can
grasp the facial expressions and dialogues of the artistes. But the spectators
in the last three rows will depend only on verbal expression,” Naik discloses.
After his primary education in Pernem, Pradeep returned to
his paternal abode in Carambolim. His dad, Anand Naik, thought that his son,
who had been groomed by his grandfather, should be a part of the dramatic
troupe at the village level. His first entry on stage was in Marathi natak
‘Sayhyadricha Sinvha’ for a local festival. Later, he was seen as an amateur
comedian in nataks staged for Shigmo and other festivals in the village.
After the successful launch of ‘Nishpap’ as a villain,
Pradeep was invited to take part in the same Marathi drama at the Kala Academy
natak competition. He joined Rudreshwar Yuvak Sangh troupe from Panjim and
participated in several competitions. He also had the opportunity to act in
one-act plays and dramas staged across Goa and Maharashtra and won several
prizes.
Thereafter, Pradeep was part of Vishnu Surya Wagh’s dramatic
troupe and acted in several one-act
plays and dramas, including ‘Punnha Ekda’ and ‘Tin Poixeancho Tiatr’.
Soon, Sidharth Halankar introduced Pradeep in his tiatr
‘Surya Kedna Udetolo?’ for KA’s tiatr competition. “It was a tiatr with merely
three artistes, namely Jessica, Rupesh Jogle and myself and I won the Best
Actor award,” informs Naik. More Best Actor awards followed with tiatrs
‘Zoitachi Ek Bhuk’ and ‘Dolleam Add’.
During the tiatr contest, Naik encountered comedian Luis
Bachan in one of the participating troupes and he was invited to act as a
substitute in comedian Dominic’s tiatr ‘Sukham Fulam, Koxttam Kantte’. “As I was
serving at the Malaria Research Centre, I had to take leave of 8 days for
rehearsals and get into the mood of the character,” informs Naik.
From then onwards, Pradeep was a member of comedian
Dominic’s troupe for almost 7-8 years where he acted in tiatrs including ‘Sukha
Fulam, Koxttam Kantte’, ‘Zhoim Pritimog Vosta’ and ‘Novo Dis Udetena’. In
between, he enacted in tiatrs, namely ‘Amkam Xanti Di’ and ‘Soglleank Nomoskar’
staged by Mariano Fernandes during the monsoon, Fr Neville Gracias’ Lenten
shows and last year in Francis de Tuem’s tiatr ‘Nivar Amkam’.
Pradeep feels that he
has given his best in all the unique characters allotted to him, and rightly
so.
Presently, while serving at the Department of Art and
Culture, Pradeep knows how to strike a balance between his official duties and
his craze for stage art. Since last September, he has been a part of comedian
Agostinho’s troupe and he feels content with the unique role assigned to him in
tiatr ‘Pai’.
Commenting on the tiatrs and nataks being staged across the
state today, Pradeep mentions that there is a vast difference between the two
in acting and technicality. “In comparison to tiatrs of yesteryears,” Pradeep
reveals, “the standard of tiatr has undergone a sea change as far as backstage
prompting, lights, stage sets are concerned due to the guidance of renowned
personalities in the tiatr field.”
Recipient of National Kalabhushan Award in 2014, this
versatile artiste feels that acting skills of tiatrists need a lot of
improvement. “If that aspect is taken care of, then tiatr will rise to a higher
standard,” he adds.
Besides the three necessities of life, Pradeep mentions that
for the Catholic audience, tiatr viewing is the fourth basic necessity and this
is vibrant through the countless upcoming tiatrs, artistes, directors,
producers, singers, musicians and technicians. “We should not take the tiatr
audience for granted. Annually, just one or two tiatrs click due to audience
appreciation. So it is a sign that several tiatrs need perfection so that they
can meet the expectations of the audience, who are the ultimate judges,” he
signs off.
