Tiatr Review: ‘Budhvont Jaki’ is the captivating story of two families

By Mario Pires

| April 19, 2026, 11:00 AM

In this tiatr, the story revolves around two households, namely Gabriel (Pradeep Naik), his spouse Emma (Dola) and their daughter-in-law Violet (Tracy de Calangute), who is a widow. On the other hand, there’s a rich businessman, Tomas (Benny de Aldona) and his only son Asher (Creto).

Gabriel and his family live in rented accommodation, and the landlord (Evaristo de Arambol) comes regularly to collect the rent. Violet lost her husband at a young age, but she is blessed with a son. Working in a private company, Violet tries to make ends meet.

While Tomas has grand dreams of finding a suitable match for his only son, Asher has his eyes on Violet, as they both work in the same company. Although Asher and Violet are good friends, he does not know how to proceed with the proposal.

Fr Jayden (Aaron), serving at St Rita Church, steps in and decides to assist Asher. Asher shows no signs of reluctance in marrying a widow and taking care of her newborn child as well.

Finally, Violet ties the knot with Asher, without the knowledge of her in-laws. Initially, Tomas is reluctant to accept Violet as his daughter-in-law, but the intelligence of Violet’s teenage son, Yuri (Jenoy), prompts him to accept his son’s marriage to a widow.

What follows next is worth the watch on stage during the second half of the drama.

BEHIND THE SCENES

The tiatr Budhvont Jaki, penned by comedian Agostinho and directed by comedian Joyel, features a strong script and sleek direction. It also showcases fine performances from a handful of artistes on stage.

Pradeep Naik, Dola, and Benny de Aldona stand out as the heads of two different families. Tracy de Calangute delivers a convincing performance as a widow and is ably supported by Creto. Aaron stands out in the role of a priest. However, teenager Jenoy steals the show with his strong performance and effective dialogue delivery.

In the comic acts, comedian Joyel appears as Covid, accompanied by Aveena as Corona and Filipe as Malaria. They deliver a good dose of laughter, keeping the audience entertained throughout.

In the song category, teenager Jenoy opens the show, followed by solos from Tony de Ribandar, comedian Filipe, Evaristo de Arambol, Benny de Aldona, and Creto, who receives an encore for his performance.

There is a duet by Dola and Evaristo de Arambol, but the duo seems to have missed the mark in its presentation. A political song by Benny de Aldona, Evaristo de Arambol and Tony de Ribandar, as well as another song featuring Filipe, Aveena, Joyel and Aaron, received encores from the audience.

Selvyn Braganca has composed the music for all the songs and cantos, with his musical team providing commendable live music offstage for all renditions. Anthony de Ambaji assisted with the stage sets, while Ratna handled the lighting.

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