Fatima, the versatile actor of the Konkani tiatr stage wasborn and brought up in Mumbai. Hence conversing fluently in English, ascompared to Konkani, came naturally to her. She also admits that she is verycomfortable speaking in English rather than in Konkani, even though she is aKonkani stage artist.
Playwright John Claro staged a tiatr titled ‘English Madam’and she was given the lead role of a European lady who marries a Goan boy andcomes down to Goa. Here, she comes face to face with cultural and socialdivide. All her lines, with the exception of a few, were written in English.Her fluency in spoken English helped her to portray the role of the Englishlady very convincingly and win the hearts of the audience. Many would come tothe green room to see who this English Lady was, as her being fair also workedto her advantage. It was the Playwright John Claro who gave her the title of‘English Madam’ on the professional Konkani stage. To this day, she is stillreferred to as the ‘English Madam’.
Back in Time
When late J P Souzalin staged his much acclaimed tiatr ‘SatDukhi’ at the Princess Theatre at Bhangwadi in Mumbai, a young child aged 12years played the brief role of Jesus when he was lost in the temple at the ageof 12. Late Shalini Mardolkar, who played the role of Mother Mary, held thehand of Jesus and escorted him onto the stage. Jesus did not have to deliverany dialogue.
The young child who had the privilege to walk on stage as 12year old Jesus was none other than Konkani tiatr stage artiste Fatima. It sohappened, that as a young girl she lived at Marine Lines, close to the PrincessTheatre. She would often accompany her elder sister Antonette to the theatrewhen she attended shows. On one such occasion when J P Souzalin saw her back stage, he asked Fatimato step into Jesus’ role since he found her aptly suitable to play the part of12 year old Jesus.
