Had the ‘Charlie Chaplin of Goa’ late Jacinto Vaz been alive today, he would have jumped with pure joy.
Nottoo long ago he had the foresight and vision to predict that the future isPrince Jacob and he is going to rule the tiatr stage after him. As most greatmen and women come humble beginnings, so did Prince Jacob. But he was destinedto make it big and be counted among the best.
Making a debut on the Konkani stage in Rosario Dias’ show, he went on to actfor other reputed playwrights like Ligorio Fernandes, Robin Vaz, Jacinto Vaz,Rosario Rodrigues and Rose Ferns. But realising his own potential waiting to beunleashed in the creative world of tiatr, he formed in his own troupe in 1985and staged his first non-stop show Pinzremthat was enacted a 113 times. Saying that he was an instant success would benothing short of an understatement. The rest as they say is history. PrinceJacob now rides on a proverbial horse drawn carriage of success admirablywithstanding every challenge on the Konkani stage ever since.
Beginning with Pinzrem he went on tostage 25 non-stop shows on the trot. The titles of these shows all began withthe letter ‘P’ and created a record of sorts on the tiatr stage. Thereafter hescripted 10 more shows all of whose titles began with the letter ‘R’.
On one instance, in Mangalore, at the Kalangan Amphi-theatre, seeing that thecontractor had made no provisions of the contemporary stage backdrop, norcurtains, or screens to stage his tiatr Rostad,he improvised and staged his show purely with the help of spot lighting,showing therein all the different scenes, and keeping the show going withoutlosing its essence and flavour. Seeing this novelty unfold in Mangalore, EricOzario, the founder of Kalangan Institute, couldn’t help saying “In the historyof tiatr, for the first time we witnessed a show without the use of curtains (pord’dde). This is a novelty in thehistory of tiatr and should go down in history.”
Two of Prince Jacob’s successful tiatrs Padriand Roddonaka have been produced intocelluloid films. Padri completed atriple century thereby setting a new record for tiatrs. Always wanting to givesomething new to his fans and never afraid to experiment, he translated aMarathi drama (nattak) Sahi re Sahi into Konkani tiatr andstaged it titled Rupnnem. It was agreat experiment on the Konkani stage, and the tiatr lovers were treated to an exceptionalpresentation. Though his critics had their negative views, Prince Jacob asusual took it in his stride. His fans complemented him for his courage inexperimenting something different. He proved that he could explore theunexplored and yet meet critique with resounding success.
Having seen the ups and downs of life Prince Jacob is a quiet philanthropist,and has rendered his helping hand to various organisations, especiallyorphanages and old age homes.
He is the only Konkani stage artist who is also a radio jockey at the popular92.7 Big FM station. He is also a much sought after brand ambassador forseveral consumer products manufactured in Goa as well as corporates. The‘Showman of the Konkani stage’ has yet another challenge before him as he now wearsthe mantle of President of the TAG. Knowing his passion for hard work, commitment,excellence and innovations, there is no doubt that he will live up to the expectationsof tiatr lovers and tiarist fraternity as well.
