Mangalore: Karavali Konkans to confer annual award, present drama on Aug 15
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Aug 11: Among some of the stalwarts who have contributed immensely for popularizing Konkani theatre, the name of Charles Sequeira stands tall along with some of the iconic names in the field. Known for his booming voice and acting prowess both as a comedian and serious actor Charlie Sequer, as he is widely known to the Konkani theatre lovers, is often referred to as the Charlie Chaplin of Konkani theatre. His sonorous voice was his major asset and it complimented well with his ability to fit into any roles be it as a hero, villain or comedian making him a complete actor.
In recognition of his priceless contribution to Konkani theatre Charles Sequeira (71) will be presented with the third “Karavali Konkans Kala Prashasti” which will be bestowed on him on August 15 in a glittering ceremony to be held in Don Bosco Hall, Mangalore. This award is presented annually to a senior Konkani theatre personality, and Charles Sequeira was chosen for this year’s award considering his extraordinary contributions to Konkani theatre.
On the same occasion, Karavali Konkans will stage its annual drama ‘Aavo Javo Goan Tumhara’, a social comedy to be performed by a Goan troupe. The tickets were released at a ceremony at Don Bosco hall here on June 20.
Theatre lovers still recall that Charles Sequeira’s very presence in the drama was a crowd puller and his on-stage presence attracted audiences in droves. Theatre lovers have missed Charlie both as an actor and his inimitable role as a comedian par excellence when he had eamed up with two other actors to form the famous ‘dol-fel-chel’ comedy team that took the Konkani theatre by storm in 1998 on the occasion of the 100th nite of Wilfy Rebimbus. For the next 12 years the trio comprising Adolphus Cutinho (Dolla) Felix Saldanha and Charlie enchanted the audience with their histrionics until Charlie was forced to step down from active theatre due to ill health 12 years ago.
Complete actor
Konkani writer CGS Taccode (Cyril G Sequeira) talking about Charles Sequeira’s contributions to Konkani theatre points out “Charlie was a complete actor who fitted into diverse roles with ease. He is a versatile actor who had the ability to put life into his roles and keep the audience spellbound. Like Amitab Bachhan he was gifted with a booming voice which perfectly complimented with his acting talent”.
About a decade years ago due to ill health Charles Sequeira had to bid adieu to Konkani theatre which was quite a painful decision for him considering that theatre was like a lifeline to him. A paralytic stroke put a break to his impressive acting career. Though he has recovered over the years his voice which has been his main asset has not regained the same resonant quality and he sometimes flounders with his words. He also cannot bank on his memory which often ditches him.
But as they say old habits die hard, Charlie does not miss any drama being staged anywhere in Mangalore. When asked whether he is not itching to get back to acting, Charlie says with a twinge of sadness: “The desire to get back to acting is very strong. Many people suggested that it is enough if I come and stand in the stage and recreated the magic of ‘Dol-Fel-Chel’ team. I did try this and even attempted to utter a few words. But somehow I was not happy with that kind of stage presence. I did not want to disappoint my audience and therefore did not muster courage to appear on stage in my new avatar”.
Charles Sequeira was born in Derebail parish and it was here he made his debut dabbling in Konkani dramas. Charlie considers Donny Menezes as his guru and gratefully remembers that it was Donny who spotted his talent and initiated him to Konkani theatre. It drives him almost into delirium when he talks about his first on stage performance when he was in the last stages of his teen years. Charlie made his debut with the Konkani Drama “mathlabi piso” written by Alphonse D Costa and directed by Donny Menezes. Under the association of “mithr mandali”, Derebail, many dramas were staged in Derebail parish giving an opportunity for Charles to showcase his all-around talent. By now he had slowly established himself as an actor and from then on nothing could halt the trajectory of his life as an actor.
Since Konkani theatre in itself was not a career Charles was working for CPC as an accountant and during his stint here he met his life partner Leena D'Souza. After marriage Charles became a parishioner of Bejai as the couple had settled near polytechnic. In Bejai parish Charles got ample opportunities to demonstrate his acting skills and carve out a niche as an actor. He began with a bang acting in A T Lobo’s play namely ‘dilan the gelan’, ‘zovle nathu’, ‘pahilvan pandit’, ‘ankwar avai’ and V J P Saldanha’s plays - ‘dev mathr zanam’, ‘somi sodvondar’ and many more. However, the true potential of Charlie as an actor came to the fore through Cha Fra D Costa’s plays namely “Ankwar mestri’, ‘bhangar monis’, ‘Georgi buthel’, ‘doro’, ‘tharnem tharnem mornem’, ‘veshenthiche bhav’, ‘mankadache payi’ and many more. These plays gave enough opportunities for Charlie to bring diversity to his acting and also experiment. At the same time Charlie had taken a strong foothold as an actor which brought him name and fame.
In CPC Charlie worked for ten years and then he worked for MCC Bank for another ten years, before leaving for Muscat in 1979 in search of better prospects. By now he was the father of two kids – son Manoj and daughter Rekha. Leaving the shores of Mangalore did not dampen his penchant for acting. In fact leaving Mangalore gave a new dimension to his life. In Muscat he joined Alcoholic Anonymous in 1980 to kick his addiction to drinking and since then he has been steadfast in his commitment all these 33 years.
In Muscat he met another dramatist Mikmax and their coming together resulted in staging “kazarachi dothorn’, the first ever Konkani play to be staged in Muscat. The play written by M P Dsa was rewritten and elongated into an hour’s play and Charlie says his boss in Muscat Frederick Vas goaded him into staging the play in Muscat. This was followed by acting in Mikmax’s play ‘chinthnanth, sabdanth and karnenth’ and ‘ankwar maistri’ which brought him accolades for his acting abilities.
It is to the credit of Charlie Sequer that he has acted in over 100 plays doing justice to every lead role he did. Ás CGS says “Charlie Sequeira is a unique actor who did justice to the roles be it comedy, tragedy or serious roles. If there is an actor who filled life into his roles with his booming voice and matched it up with his acting skills it is none other than Charlie Sequer. Konkani theatre aficionados still recall his acting in plays like ‘sequeram driver’. ‘chedun kashen laglen’, ‘kedi bona’, ‘devnsar nadtha’, ‘ran dukor’, ‘ramba root’, ‘thu maka naka’, just to name a few. His acting skills fetched him the role of a villain in Wilfy Rebimbus’s Konkani film ‘mog ani maipas’ and Charlie lived that character to the satisfaction of all. Roles came searching for him and Charlie also acted in a number of Tulu plays, which mirrors his versatility as an actor.
Dol-Fel-Chel comedy team
The 100th Wilfy Nite proved to be another turning point in the life of Charlie as that nite saw the debut of the comedy team ‘dol-fel-chel’. 100th Wilfy Nite proved to be another milestone as for the first time a comedy team made their debut on stage. Their comedy was a novation at the time and the audience welcomed them with open arms and this greatly emboldened their spirits. The name dol-fel-chel was incidentally coined by Wilfy’s son Vishwas and the comedy team became an inseparable part of 100 more Wilfy nites. Charlie Sequer then went on to win ‘haasy samrat’ (comdedy king) award for his hilarious comedy.
Some of the famous comedy themes presented by dol-fel-chel during Wilfy Nites are “Dabazo” in Abudabui in 1993, “poda-phokanachi sanz” in Khatar in 1997, “maskiri maskiri” in 1996 and “dol-fel-chel show” in Bangalore in 1998. While Wilfy Nite provided mesmerizing music, the comedy show had hilarious pantomimes and high energy comedy routines. Together they gave complete entertainment to the audience. Charlie was a multi-talented personality which is evident from the fact that he wrote and staged two plays titled ‘tiraskar’ and ‘vibadellen kutamb’.
It is rather ironic that the man who gave goose bumps to the audience with his booming voice and his very stage presence had lost his speech following the stroke he had 12 years ago. He had become completely dumb and it is only in the last five years he has regained his voice. His routine these days comprises going to church in the evening every day and attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings once a week every Wednesday. He is self dependent now but has difficulty only in counting money and therefore whenever he goes out he holds the required money for the bus in his hands.
Charlie becomes emotional recalling the sacrifices made by his family especially his son Manoj, wife Leena and daughter. He breaks into tears when he says Manoj came from gulf and spent nearly a month with him when he fell sick. “My wife Leena took care of me like that of a child and because of their care, love and zeal I am able to stand on my own”, he says.
It is indeed a matter of gratification to know that Karavali Konkans has chosen him for the coveted award given to veteran theatre artistes annually. This award is another feather in the cap of this veteran artiste who has won many awards and honors. This award, especially at a time when he has been away from theatre for almost a decade, means a lot to him. It also means acknowledging his gargantuan contribution to Konkani theatre. Long live Charlie Sequer!!