MARGAO: Veteran tiatrist, writer-director, and lawyer Mike Mehta (Michael Rodrigues), one of the most respected intellectual voices of the Goan tiatr stage, passed away on Saturday, November 1, after a prolonged illness. He was 78.
The funeral will take place on Monday. Born on August 6, 1947, in the scenic village of Borim, Ponda, Mehta was not only an acclaimed stage artist but also the first lawyer to emerge from his native village. A senior criminal lawyer by profession, he practiced for several decades and served as a legal advisor to prominent Goan politicians including Monte de Cruz and Churchill Alemao.
However, Mehta’s true passion lay in Konkani theatre. Beginning his artistic journey as a performer in English concerts, he later found his creative calling in writing and directing tiatrs in his mother tongue. His love and reverence for Konkani, he often said, was the driving force that compelled him to dedicate his life to the stage.
Over a career spanning more than 35 years, Mehta performed in over 550 shows, wrote, directed, and produced 11 tiatrs, and introduced several bold experiments in scripting, direction, and presentation. His plays often explored social and political themes, earning him a reputation as one of the most thought-provoking playwrights of his generation.
He was first introduced to the tiatr stage by Rosario Dias in his tiatr ‘Vivasghat’, however he attained fame in 1980 in John Claro’s super hit tiatr ‘Purtugez Kolvont’ which created a history with over 200 plus performances in Goa, Mumbai and Pune. John Claro later cast him in his following tiatr ‘Inglez Madam’.
Besides John Claro and Rosario Dias, Mike Mehta later on performed for almost all the stalwart directors of the tiatr stage, namely M. Boyer, C. Alvares, Jacinto Vaz, Remmie Colaço, Kamat de Assolna, Premanand Sangodkar, Anil Kumar, Fr. Planton Faria, etc. As an actor he followed “Constantino Stanislavsky’s” School of Acting.
Among his most acclaimed productions were Grant Road, Goenkaranchem Rogot (on the recognition of Konkani in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution), Goem Viklem Ghanttar (on political defections), Politik (on the Emergency in India), and O Papagaiyo, Canta E Beira (on Goan identity). His 1982 play Grant Road, with music by Chris Perry, remains a landmark in Konkani theatre for its daring subject and memorable performances.
His innovative ideas helped shape a new direction for tiatr. He firmly believed that “a popular tiatr need not necessarily be a progressive one; experiment alone is the path to progress.”
His death has left a deep void in Goa’s cultural and legal circles. Several tiatrists, actors, and fellow lawyers have expressed profound grief over his passing.
Anthony Barbosa, President of the Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG), said, “He was a tiatrist par excellence and an intellectual. He was one among the few directors who inspired many others. He was very innovative on the tiatr stage and constantly pushed its creative limits.”
Expressing his condolences, Fausto V. Da Costa, senior tiatrist and journalist, said, “Mike Mehta was a fearless thinker who used tiatr to question, challenge, and awaken society. His pen and stagecraft reflected courage, intellect, and an undying love for Konkani.”
