In Goa, it's the theatre of the absurd Devika Sequeira devikaseque...@gmail.com
Francis de Tuem's biting political satire 'Reporter' notched its 60th show Monday evening at the Kala Academy. It was houseful, and from the rush at the counter it will continue to be a sellout for more shows to come. Political theatrics -- both the real and the staged one -- are a huge draw in Goa, and Monday night, the two seemed to surreally intertwine, as one was being enacted on stage, and the other played out in a Margao courtroom. It's easy to recognise why Francis de Tuem has picked up pace in just three years, making the progression from singer of political songs to director/writer (this is his third tiatr) delivering the acerbic punchline. So attuned is the 40-year-old tiatr director to the political pulse, Mickky Pacheco's surrender the same evening had been seamlessly woven into the caustic repartee. As the tiatr played on, weaving through a long-drawn political melodrama and cutting asides even as Pacheco prepared for the long haul in Cell No 14 at Sada, I was struck by the odd coincidence of poetic justice at play that evening. Two years ago on August 9 Francis de Tuem -- whose real name is also coincidentally Francisco Xavier -- was arrested by the police at Ravindra Bhavan as he walked in to take part in a Roseferns tiatr. A complaint had been lodged against the Konkani singer by -- ironic really—Mickky Pacheco. The allegation was that the tiatrist's remarks at the previous day's show had crossed the boundaries of decency and were tantamount to defaming the MLA and his family. The complaint also encompassed allegations of extortion of which one has been provided little evidence or heard much of since. Yet it took the police but a few hours to arrest Francisco Xavier Fernandes (Francis de Tuem). In Pacheco's case, several teams of the Goa police were despatched on and off (to please the courts one assumes) to "hunt" for the elusive Mickky in Delhi -- this pretence played out at the expense of the public exchequer -- but he evaded arrest for close to two months. "We knew he had exhausted all resources and would surrender one of these days. We knew he was to surrender in Goa." Director General of Police TN Mohan's comments to the media are practically an admission of collusion between the MLA's family/associates/lawyers and the government to give him a long rope till the very end -- when the attachment of properties would have to begin. (Aires Rodrigues would have hardly allowed that opportunity to pass by.) Just before the release of 'Reporter' sometime in April, Francis de Tuem was asked why he decided to shift gears from family drama to political satire. Using the Nirbhaya rape case as example he said he believed a reporter could make all the difference. It was only because of media pressure that the police swung into action. Opradhi lojek poddona te meren sudrona (A criminal won't change unless he is shamed), he said. The comment would naturally apply to corrupt politicians. But 'Reporter' is not so much about the power of the media as the entrapment of those with festering political ambitions and the taking down of real-life ones. It can be cathartic for the audience mired in the everyday morass of corruption, unemployment, bad roads, and much more. Which perhaps explains its runaway success and should be cause for worry to those currently in power. Many believe this is the end of the road for Mickky Pacheco. I'm not so sure. Scores of his supporters came to shake hands and sympathise with him. Given what we have become as a people, and the kind of politicians we elect, that's hardly surprising. In many quarters, the anger was directed against Aires for being such a "persistent bulldog" in pursuing "such a small matter". In a state where everyone is on backslapping terms with the MLA in his constituency, the black easily diffuses into grey and all is easily forgotten and forgiven. The one redeeming factor from Mickky's latest political circus is that Francis de Tuem will have another plot for a new tiatr. ### First published in The Times of India, June 3, 2015 under the title 'Is it curtains for Mickky Pacheco?'