Daijiworld Media Network – Panaji (MS)
Panaji, Jul 26: For the older generation of Goa, Tiatr form of song and drama art, is the biggest entertainment.
Though youth and children of Goa have several other forms of entertainment, they were still drawn to the theatre by Selvy. He made them have a lighter time forgetting the daily burdens of life. His entry into the show will wake up even those who were taking a nap inside the auditorium.
The extremely popular comedian artiste Selvy or Matheus Correia, his real name, left the whole state in tears as he breathed his last on Monday at a very young age of 48. He was liked by everyone. Selvy was admitted to Goa Medical College hospital 10 days ago due to diabetic related complications.
Menion de Bandar, president of Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG) said that Selvy was an audience favourite artiste. Whenever the audience used to see Selvy appear on stage, they burst into laughter even before he started his act. Parents were pressured by their children to attend the comedy shows of Selvy. The void left by him will be difficult to fill soon.”
As a professional for more than two decades Selvy always made the audience glued to their seats and hear every dialogue and see his moves on the stage. Goa theatre has several newcomers as well as veterans but Selvy carved a niche for himself because of his outstanding performance and comedy timings.
Paying tribute to Selvy, well known comedian John D’Silva, who gave Selvy the big break in Vatt in 1998, said, “We made a good combination. His comic timing was good, facial expression even better and he remained very supportive all along. While discussing comedy (scenes), if the crowd was not entertained, he did not hesitate to try something else. Goa has lost one of the greatest comedians of the Konkani stage.”
Correia was employed with the water resources department. How he got the name Selvy is still not clear. Most people know that he entered tiatr as a teenager in the traditional folk play that was performed during the carnival. The name of the play was Zomnivoilo Khell.
Right from the nineties when Selvy entered the stage, directors like John D’Silva (19 tiatrs), Roseferns (monsoon shows) and comedian Agostinho (23 tiatrs) tapped his potential and Selvy gave stellar performances.
In addition to performing under others’ directions Sevly had his own tiatrs that were hugely liked by the audience.
In a far off overseas place like the United Kingdom, Selvy’s play Raza Zeita, Kombo Choita’ performed along with female comedian Anita, was a great hit. Selvy’s own modifications of Remo’s ‘O Meri Munni’ and Maria Pitache created a laughter riot with the audience. In the first home production his son Myron also performed well alongside his father.
The last tiatr of legendary Selvy was ‘8 Dis’ based on the life of auto rickshaw drivers. The show was being performed at Margao when Selvy felt uneasiness and was taken to south Goa district hospital from where later he was taken to GMC for advanced treatment.
Unfortunately, Selvy bid goodbye to his audience leaving the performance of ‘8 Dis’ midway. However, his performances of two decades of tiatr will linger long in the memory of Goa tiatr lovers for sure.