M Boyer - great writer of plays

by J P Pereira
Posted on 2009-05-31
In death, they say life is changed not taken away. M Boyer, the favourite of thousands of ‘tiatr’ lovers passed away on May 30, 2009, which also happens to be Goa’s Statehood Day.
Christened Manuel Santana Aguiar, he was born in Raia on October 11, 1930. He was a favourite performer in school but the principal would not allow him to act in ‘tiatr’. The young boy loved stage and every time he was caught while singing on stage, the principal would fine him. To avoid fines, he adopted the name M Boyer, after the Hollywood artiste, Charles Boyer whose film was playing in the theatres at that time in Goa.
At the age of 18, Boyer presented his first tiatr titled ‘Rinnkari’ at the Mae De Deus feast at Nuvem. The drama was appreciated and the young writer never looked back. Over 5,000 performances in various dramas and around 1,000 songs rendered in these shows is quite an achievement.
In those days, when a trip abroad for tiatr artistes was a rarity, Boyer travelled to London, East Africa and the Gulf countries.
A great writer of plays, Boyer had written, directed and produced 25 dramas, all hits and loved by audience and critics. Most notable among these were ‘Ekuch Rosto’ emphasising on communal harmony, ‘Chintnam Ani Sopnam’ dealing with drug abuse and ‘Sounsar Sudorlo’ taking a critical look at the dowry system. “Bhurgim Ani Bhangar’ depicted the evils of alcoholism, ‘Adim tem atam Hem’ was about superstition, ‘Ghor Dukhi Gaum Sukhi’ dealt with student unrest while ‘Mog Kazar Divorce’ stressed on the importance of trust and love in a marriage. In ‘Ekuch Rosto’ the ace director brought in Shalini, Premanand Sangodkar and the late Ulhas Buyao to act on the Konkani stage. All his plays had a powerful social message and were also packed with top class entertainment.
M Boyer played a major role in a very popular Konkani film ‘Amchem Noxib’ and is well remembered for the humorous sequence where he tries to woo a girl, singing while playing guitar.
A singer and composer, whenever he performed solos or duets, there was always a demand for encores and each time he returned he would sing new lyrics. Tiatr lovers will remember songs like ‘Japanese Okhol’ and the one he rendered on the collapsed Mandovi bridge, dressed in black and mourning. He recorded ‘Goenche Kovent’, ‘Bhurgim vo Baulim’, ‘Zila ani Lila’, ‘Amig’ and many others on the HMV and Polydor labels. His album ‘Golden Goa’ now available on CD is an absolute delight. Besides these, Boyer also released ‘Doulot Goenkaranchi’, ‘25 Vorsanim’ and ‘Teatrist’ on cassette.
M Boyer’s career was studded with various awards. He was conferred with Padmashree some years back; besides he received several other awards such as the Goa Government Cultural award, the Konkani Bhasha Mandal award, the Gulab award and the Sangeet Natak Akademi award which he received at the hands of Shankar Dayal Sharma, the then president of India.
Noted actor, director and playwright, Anil Kumar who was associated with M Boyer for 27 years has said that there will never be an artiste of the calibre of M Boyer. He was a well-known personality, a crowd puller who always liked to discuss with others the improvisation of his compositions and scripts. Incidentally, Anil Kumar revived two of Boyer’s plays and performed to record crowds.
Today M Boyer is no more. A great loss for the Konkani stage, which had resounded with his presence. We will miss you sir, and we will never find your replacement. Thank you for the quality entertainment. Padmashree M Boyer leaves behind his wife, Ms Martha and five sons. While we offer our condolences to the bereaved family, we pray to God that his soul rest in peace.