As a child he had two ambitions, to be a teacher and an actor. Even though acting and singing was considered taboo in his family with perseverance Kenny Zuzarte achieved them both
The mere mention of the name ‘Kenny’ on the Konkani tiatrstage conjures images of a tall and beautiful young lady dressed in her fineryfrom head to toe, belting out foot-tapping solos in a soothing female voice.Born to Mangalorian parents Thereza and Michael in Mumbai his birth name isKenneth Anne Agnel Zuzarte, but known among all and sundry simply as Kenny.
Kenny’s stage career began in 1978, after he finished hisschooling. But it was not in tiatr that he took his first bow, as many mayperceive. He took the plunge as a singer in a Hindi orchestra, singing in afemale voice for many big names like Robin Brothers, Sonraj Productions, Alibaband his grand orchestra etc. But he did not derive much satisfaction from it.
It was senior Konkani stage artiste Philomena Braz fromMumbai who gave Kenny a break to sing and act in her tiatr ‘Axechi Doxea’.Kenny sang a song ‘Respeda Cheddum’ composed by Seby Coutinho. He was also castto play a comedic role opposite comedian Paul Romy. Being a Mangalorian, heencountered difficulty speaking with a Goan accent. But, his seniors supportedand encouraged him and he passed the acid test.
The real turning point in his Konkani stage career, however,came when he acted and sang in a tiatr ‘Patki Nhoi Ghatki’ directed by CAlvares. “A simple, quiet, soft-spoken gentleman approached me, enquiring if Idesired to continue in this profession and whether I had songs with me, if Iwere to receive offers for more shows. When I replied in the negative, thegentleman asked for my address and the next day he was at my door with thelyrics of two new songs. The rest as they say is history, and the creator ofthis history is my composer/lyricist, the late Gabru Gomes,” recalled Kennywith nostalgia.
Gabru Gomes later introduced young Kenny to Prem Kumar andhe trained him to speak Konkani with a Goan accent and cast Kenny in his nexttiatr ‘Noxibacho Divo Paloulo’. Kenny sang two songs, ‘Film Star’ and ‘GoriGori’, both of which were composed by Gabru Gomes. The road to success on theKonkani stage was clear and charted for Kenny from there onwards.
When asked why he is so inclined to play female roles orsing as a female, Kenny shot back “This is a question that has been put beforeme umpteen times...but I do not have an answer to it. Maybe the question shouldbe put forth to the audience. They have, after all, accepted me in femaleattire, singing and acting in female roles. I am sure they like what I do, theylike my dress sense, my mannerisms as a woman...and hence I still exist’.”
