Mangalore: Jerry – Joseph : Being Comedians is no Joke !
by Florine Roche
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Apr 20: Looking at the two clean shaven gentlemen sitting in front of me with a serious countenance I could not help but chuckle recalling some of their on-stage comedy shows that often send the audience into a state of utter delirium. These gentlemen, who seem to read my mind, candidly admit that often people just start laughing the moment they both come to the stage and even before they start enacting their skit or jokes .
Jokes apart, I am referring to the comedy duo of “Khushali Group” Jerry-Mari(ian) – Jerry Rasquina and Joseph Marian Pinto, who have brought a kind vivacity and hilarity to many Konkani music programmes, Konkani plays and other Konkani entertainment programmes in Mangalore and other parts of the globe through their comedy. To make people laugh with their very presence is an achievement in itself, considering the fact that comedy is the toughest form of acting and also because it is very tough to make people laugh.
So before I go ahead with further questions Jerry Rasquina drops a bombshell saying jovially that they both have lost their moustache in their pursuit of doing what they love the most – making people laugh through their slapstick comedy. Till then it never struck me that their moustache has been the casualty in their compulsion to enact both male and female roles as and when the role demands because they have restricted the characters of their skits or jokes to just two, for convenience sake. But they both don’t regret - having lost something in order to gain much more in the bargain. As Jerry puts it “we have literally lost moustache when we decided to go clean shave as demanded by the roles we played. In fact it is the chemistry between Joseph and me which helped us strike a rapport with the audience which has helped us to establish ourselves”.
“Kushali Pangad” was started by Jerry and Joseph about seven years back and in a relatively short span they have succeeded in creating an identity as a comedy team far-excellence though individually they had their own separate identities as artistes with multiple talents much before they formed the group. But they clicked as a comedy team and continue to regale their audience with their multifaceted on -stage histrionics. In fact it may not be out of place to name them as the Laurel and Hardy of Konkani stage with Jerry as Hardy and Joseph as Laurel. They both belong to Angelore Parish and pursue multiple interests like singing, acting, comedy and as Master of Ceremonies.
Jerry Rasquinha
Jerry Rasquinha the plumper of the two, though not to the extent of the original Hardy, says he inherited his eclectic talent from his father late Leo Rasquinha. He was a great dramatist who had also composed many Konkani songs. Though born in Angelore his family shifted to Bendoor because of his mother’s transfer. Bendoor parish proved to be a stepping stone for Jerry to showcase his skills as the church used to have lot of activities that helped budding youngsters to display their talents. Jerry was exposed to acting with Konkani actors Austin D Souza Prabhu, Charles Sequeira, late Vincent Kamath, late Edward Quadros and many more. Actor John D'Souza gave him an opportunity to act on stage and he lived up to the expectations of his mentor. Back in Angelore, he participated in the inter-parish drama competitions organized by Kala Sampath and walked away with the best actor award for his portrayal in the play “Novro”, which he says was a serious role. That was just the kind of pat on the back Jerry needed and he gleefully grabbed the opportunities that came on his way.
As a comedian Jerry made his debut in Melwyn Peris’s music programmes. Along with Melwyn Peris Jerry started cracking some jokes as filler. He became a permanent fixture in Melwyn Peris Nites donning the role of the compere of his musical nites. Opportunities then beckoned as Jerry began to act in the plays of Mandd Sobhanna and even for local TV comedy show, shown in between a play of Mandd Sobhann. Jerry has also acted and directed many Konkani plays and has also acted in a Konkani TV serial for Chandana, “Paap ani Shirap”, which of course had an abrupt ending.
By profession Jerry is Life Insurance advisor to LIC. He also an established Master of Ceremony, conducting programmes like weddings, jubilees, christening, Holy Communion and other functions in Konkani, Kannada and English. He also writes poetry and contributes articles to various Konkani periodicals. He is also a voracious reader. He says, his wife Jacintha and daughters Samantha and Agatha are pillars of his strength and inspiration.
Joseph Pinto
Like Jerry, Joseph also belongs to Angelore Parish and that might have prompted them to come together and form the “Khushali Group”. Joseph had lost his father early and it was his mother who brought him up singlehandedly. For many years he worked in his own auto for his daily bread as he was the only child but for the last one decade he has been concentrating only as an artiste – acting, singing, compere, master of ceremonies etc. Before coming to Angelore Parish his family was in Jeppu parish and it was Sr Irene D Souza who recognized his melodious voice and gave him the initial push as a singer when he was in the church choir. He slowly graduated to participate in inter-parish music competitions which gave him the required confidence and boosted his morale. But credit goes to singer Melwyn Peris for bringing Joseph to the stage as a singer during one of his musical nites. For the past 17 years Joseph is the lead singer for the beat group “Angels” of Kinsley Nazareth. Though he can sing any type of songs he is effortless and more at ease in singing in tenor tone.
Since music and plays usually go together Joseph tried his hand in acting also by participating in the Kala Sampath organized inter-parish drama competitions which gave him the first opportunity to exhibit his acting prowess. Since then Joseph has firmly established himself as an artiste of repute in the Konkani field showing his singing and acting skills and has succeeded in finding a firm foothold as a comedian with a style so unique and chic. Under the guidance and support of sangeet guru Joel Pereira Joseph has also tried his hand in ‘gumat’ and he showed his skills during the recent World Konkani Cultural Convention.
As a singer Joseph has sung for as many as 175 cassettes and CD’s from 1982 onwards, starting with the cassette of Fr Walter Albuquerque. He says he had a long time ambition of singing in the cassette of Konkani Kogul late Wilfy Rebimbus’s cassette which was fulfilled when he got an opportunity to sing in his cassette “Ankwar Mariyechi Katha” for which Meena Rebimbus sang the chorus. Though has emerged as a seasoned singer over the years Joseph still feels that everyday has been a learning experience to him. Joseph also does master of ceremonies (MC) in Konkani for various functions of Catholics. Though music, acting and comedy shows (acting and practice) demand his full attention and time he is also involved in land dealings to supplement his income.
His wife Florine is working at Fr Mullers Hospital. Elder son Jeethan is a final year BCom student and Daughter Flavia is doing her 2nd PUC. Joseph says “without the support of my family who encouraged my every activity and also cooperated with my unusual schedules, I would not have been able to do whatever little I could”.
Ever since “Khushali Group” has been established about 7 years ago, the duo Jerry and Joseph have performed in various music shows of Konkani singers like Henry D Souza, Antony Tauro, Charles D Cunha and Jerome D Souza in Mumbai and also to new and happening Konkani singing sensation like Kevin Misquith. The duo recalls that during one of the Nites of Antony Tauro, Walter Nandalike spotted their talent for comedy and the underlying chemistry and supported them. “If there is no godfather nothing works in any industry. If it was not for Walter Nandalike we would not have been able to establish ourselves and attain popularity”, Joseph recalls.
Apart from performing in different parts of India Jerry-Joseph duo have also performed in Dubai and Doha Qatar. The pair is credited for introducing novelty in Konkani comedy which has been received well by the audience as is evident from their popularity. “We have limited our jokes to a maximum of three minutes and crack them without wasting much time as we feel people want the jokes to be crisp and short”, Jerry delineates.
The pair says that they have maintained certain decency by choosing classic jokes with great care. “We have not projected vulgarity of any kind and sometimes it depends on how you project yourself on stage. That we are successful and popular is a vindication of our efforts to provide good entertainment”, says Jerry with his characteristic grin. He further adds “Being funny is not about being frivolous or buffoonery – it's about being genuinely humorous and encouraging other people to have a good laugh. Luckily for us Joseph and I share a good timing and chemistry which has been a major element of our success as a group”.
But they both admit that being comedians has its own pitfalls. As Joseph says “there is a tendency among people to take us for granted. That is the biggest obstacle comedians face because the general trend is to call them as mad men just as people do for Johny Lever“. Jerry adds “It is only due to the support and encouraging words from people like Walter Nandalike, Richard Moras and others that we have decided to continue to be comedians”.
Jerry feels that it is very difficult to make people and that too Mangaloreans laugh because ‘most of them are fevicol-lipped’. He adds: “It is not that easy to establish as comedians. But once established and recognized people will laugh just by looking at the comedians”. While people enjoy a joke easily, it needs lot of hard work and presence of mind also. The jokes have to be selected, molded according to the taste and situations, the script written down and punch line also has to be worked out. “Without punch line any joke will become a dud and it would be a disaster”, Joseph points out. They also need to update their jokes as repeating jokes is like inviting disaster mainly because suspense is the body and soul of jokes and if the jokes are repeated at one or two functions, the steam is lost.
This means they have to work harder to keep the audience amusing.
Today the pair is able to evoke laughter by their very presence, which is an achievement on the one hand but is also a tragedy on the other. So providing entertaining comedy is not easy and being comedians is even tougher. Getting people to laugh, therefore, requires genuine humor, good chemistry, and suitable expressions, which is definitely about more than reciting hackneyed jokes !
Meet Jerry - Duje in Dubai on April 29, 2011
Daiji Darbar 2011 :