Spreading smiles with her comedy

Socorrinha Fizardo, popularly known as Succurine on the Konkani stage, hails from Ribandar. Born and brought up in Mumbai, Succurine was around 14 years of age when she had the privilege of singing in the choir at Our Lady of Fatima Church, Sewrie, Mumbai. Her father, late Leo D’Mello, who served as a foreman at Hindustan Lever, would organise several skits with numerous songs in order to raise funds for the church.

It was at one such show that noted tiatrist Saib Rocha took note of Succurine, appreciated her melodious voice and inquired why she she had not yet entered the world of tiatr. He then went on to welcome her in one of his tiatrs where she presented a solo, ‘Puja’, which was penned by her father’s friend, David Fernandes. She rendered it in style and realising the potential of his teen daughter, Leo thereafter decided to compose songs for Succurine. 

Till date, Succurine continues to render comedy songs composed by her father and she believes that all those songs of yesteryears continue to be hits till date. “All the compositions had immense depth and were strong by themselves. The lines of the first verse were linked to those in the second and third verses and they flowed quite smoothly,” she adds.

Weighing Succurine’s unique ability to draw the attention of the audience and receive encores with comedy songs, Leo sometimes composed songs that had 8 verses and 8 choruses. Those lengthy songs filled with wit enabled Succurine to render each of them in a style of her own.

In 1968, Succurine stepped onto the professional stage in Prem Kumar’s tiatrs and continued with her splendid performances, both as a comedienne and singer, till the director passed away. Next, she joined C Alvares’ troupe, initially with songs and later as a comedienne. 

As a singer and actor, Succurine has doled out umpteen performances with stalwarts of the Konkani stage like M Boyer, Jacint Vaz, Alfred Rose, Kid Boxer, Joe Rose, to name a few. She brushed shoulders with tiatrists of the new era, beginning with Mariano Fernandes’ tiatr ‘Devacho Vhodd Upkar’; she continued with him for quite some time.

Later, Succurine joined comedian Dominic’s troupe and continued with the same director for almost 3-4 seasons. She also displayed her talent in tiatrs staged by Samuel Carvalho, John Moraes and several other directors, which gave her the opportunity to tour the world.    

As a comedienne and singer, Succurine made her last appearance in Samuel Carvalho’s tiatr, ‘Serkar’, besides countless musical shows with late H Briton in Mumbai and Mangalore. She also shared the musical stage with noted Mangalorean singers like Henry D’Souza, Victor Consecio and Jerome D’Souza, before deciding to hang her boots. 

Although she is less seen on stage due to various family commitments, she is determined to keep Konkani alive in Mumbai with performances of minus tracks at birthday parties, First Holy Communion, wedding anniversaries and more so at the traditional ‘ros’ ceremony, which is still popular in Mumbai.

With the help of her daughter, Zilma, Succurine successfully runs three beauty parlours in Dubai and business commitments prevent her from making a comeback on the tiatr stage. 

With regard to doling out exceptional performances as a comedienne, Succorine informs that she had the habit of gabbling a lot and it was Prem Kumar who spotted her potential and requested her to try her hand at comedy. She made her appearance as a comedienne in tiatr ‘Khotto Poiso’ and mesmerised the audience with her faulty English. Later, in the same director’s tiatr, ‘Peleachea Vostuchi Axea Korum Naie’, she proved her mettle with fluency in the Marathi language. 

In singing and acting, Succurine’s life has been enriched in tiatrs. Her pairing with M Boyer and Jacint Vaz in the past and with Luis Bachan in the present era helped her to give her best as a comedienne. “Had it not been for tiatrs,” she states, “my life would be meaningless. When I die, I would like to die with my art.”

Succorine has 3 CDs to her credit, namely ‘Pixem’, ‘Bach ke Rehna’ and ‘Barbie Doll’. Earlier, if it was her father who was her sole composer, today, she says it’s Edwin D’Costa who composes songs for her. “Five of his songs have already been recorded. But he probably will release them after my death,” she quips with a laugh.         

Referring to the vulgarity in comedy prevailing in today’s tiatr, she asserts, “My comedy has always been meaningful, with good and decent words and no vulgarity at all. We were born comediennes. But today’s comedians are made and hence the cheap comedy flows instantly.”

“In today’s tiatr world, the new breed of tiatrists do not know to give and receive respect from the seniors and fellow artistes. That strange and absurd attitude from some leads to others losing interest in tiatrs,” she concludes.