Recuperating from a serious ailment, veteran artiste, Jessie Dias is raring to return back to the place where she is most comfortable, the Konkani stage
A born artiste and a gifted singer, Jessie Dias has been aninseparable part of the Konkani stage for the last 50 years. With herversatility and brilliant acting skills, she has carved for herself a niche inthe hearts of tiatr lovers across the globe. Coming from a tiatr-loving family,Jessie’s first encountered show biz as a child artiste in her brother Lucas’play ‘Eksuro’. Here she was spotted by Francisco de Parra, a senior playwrightand lyricist, who introduced Jessie in his tiatr ‘Lagmodi Sun’. She was justten years old then.
The opportunity to prove her mettle in acting and singingcame later in 1963 when she was called upon to substitute for another femaleartiste from Bombay in two of Alfred Rose’s dramas ‘Dotor Advogad’ and‘Director Saib’ when they were on tour in Goa.
This was the turning point in Jessie’s life. This was thebreak she needed. Jessie’s inborn talent came to the fore and in full view ofnot only the audiences in Goa, but other senior artistes too. From there on,there was no looking back.
In her half-decade long acting career on the Konkani stage,Jessie Dias has worked with more than 90 directors. Prem Kumar’s ‘KakutNaslolo’, ‘Konnank Mhunnom Maim’, ‘Mortikar’, Minguel Rod’s ‘Bapul Bhav’,‘Ghorchem Kestanv’, Rico Rod’s ‘Paichem Vhoddponn’, ‘Bailek Lagon’, DenisSequeira’s ‘Dogui Mhuje Put’, Alfred Rose’s ‘Munis Vo Denvchar’, Robin Vaz’s‘Shantichem Loginn’, C Alvares’s ‘Bhattkar de Goa’, ‘Mhuji Vonnim’ are just afew of the big names she has worked for.
Besides tiatr, Jessie has acted in several khell tiatrs -A.M. Pacheco’s ‘Fator’, Ligorio Fernandes’ ‘Orombh ani Xevott’, Anthony San’s‘Darvontto’, etc. But her long innings for khell tiatr was for the late RosarioRodrigues.
Jessie Dias is also well-known among tiatr lovers for thenumerous duets she has rendered, not just on the Konkani stage, but forrecords, audio cassettes and CDs. Over the course of time, she has paired withLawrence de Tiracol, Francis de Parra, C Alvares, Bab Peter, Souza Ferrao,Robin Vaz, Greg and Young Mendes.
Jessie was blessed with grace and this was exhibited in thevarious roles she played on the Konkani stage. Whether as a daughter, a sister,a mother or a grandmother, Jessie displayed exceptional acting skills to bringthe designated role to life. Her forte, however, lay in playing a ‘Mother’. Andit was this motherly instinct that she displays in real life as well, caringfor all her colleagues - whether senior or junior - with love, care, concernand affection. A compassionate person, she has a heart of gold and her helpingnature automatically makes her reach out to people in need, not just in herprofessional life, but in her personal life as well.
Recently, she was conferred with the ‘Lifetime Contributionto Tiatr Award 2012’ by the Tiatr Academy of Goa for her dedicated contributionto the tiatr stage for half a century. Expressing her sentiments on thismomentous occasion, Jessie told The Goan, ‘This award is recognition for alifetime of contribution to the Konkani stage and all the sweat and toil I haveput in to enrich the same.’
Sounding philosophical, she further adds, ‘A lifetimeachievement award does not mean the end of one’s acting career. It is the boostI need to aim even higher. I still have a lot of talent and burning desireinside of me. I look forward to coming back to the stage and continuing mywork.’
‘I am thankful to God, my family and above all to my eversupportive audience. If I am where I am today, they have played a crucial rolein my success story,’ she says straight from the heart.
