'Goan aunty' becomes a YouTube star Nida Sayed | TNN | Feb 10, 2016, 10.36 AM IST 786nidasa...@gmail.com
Panaji: We all have that one aunty who is quirky and encompasses just about everything Goan. And even though the relationship may be more of love-hate, her sussegad sassiness is what appeals the most. Portraying the idiosyncrasies of the quintessential Goan aunty through hilarious videos, Mumbai-based theatre artist Rozzlin Pereira, transforms herself into a senior citizen from Bandra's Goan community, launching one adventure after another on YouTube every Monday. Pereira worked on the character of Aunty Maggy when she performed in a play called 'He Says She Says' a few years ago, where the character had a minuscule role. She incorporated mannerisms from different aunties she has known over the years to build its personality. "The walk, talking with a slight tilt of her head as she looks at you from above the rim of her glasses, and hand gestures are things I found quirky and quite endearing in these aunties. It gave them their unique edge," said Pereira. After two years, Aunty Maggy finally took to social media and emerged as a popular household favourite as she began to give her take on social issues, deal with situations like a bad-ass senior citizen and even adapt to new ideas. In doing this, she broke two stereotypes: one, of not adhering to the saas-bahu norm to win the older audiences, and two, of portraying a middle-aged Goan character in a comedy scene usually dominated by males. "It's true that comedy in India is generally associated with men and there aren't nearly as many female comics. A video with a hot girl on the thumbnail is likely to get a lot of curious viewers than one with an old, fat, wrinkled, quirky aunty. So it is not going to grab attention from new viewers easily," Pereira said. But, in the six months that she has been around, Aunty Maggy's character has clicked with the Goan audience and beyond. Her fans from Goa and beyond always look forward to Mondays to see what the granny is up to next. Bandra-based, Chantelle Fernandes, said, "Aunty Maggy truly describes our little hometown, Bandra. She's one of the typical Bandra buggers and never fails to put a smile on our faces." Neville Rodrigues, a doctoral student at University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand told TOI, "There is not much of Goan influence where I live so the 'character' of the Goan catholic Aunty is slowly fading. I'm glad someone like Rozzlin has chosen to immortalise our Goan aunties on Youtube. She is brilliant at what she does." About her Goan roots, she says, "While I was born and brought up in Mumbai, my parents are Goan and in every way, from my taste buds to my Susegaad tendencies, I am Goan." Going on to define the unique qualities that define 'Goanness', she says Goans respect relationships over ambitious materialism. "If we feel loved, appreciated and respected, we go out of our way to help and form a bond for life. We're content with what we have and while sometimes that can be perceived as lack of ambition, we actually are happy with the things that matter most in life. Aunty Maggy is just like that. She speaks her mind, goes about her daily chores, doesn't desire the high life, loves her family much as she grumbles about them, makes friends with everyone and at the core of it all is a warm simple good human being." Since she represents the naivete of the older generation while also keeping up with the modern age, viewers of both generations have grown to like her. This is evident by the videos that are presently doing the rounds on Facebook and WhatsApp. Most of her videos have up to 5k views, some even going up to 10k views. "Keeping it topical and inclusive, and bringing in variety brings in a diverse audience," she adds. SEE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcAPKV8X6BKbRICiWpkjDsA