PANAJI
The daughter of a Russian filmmaker, and a theatre director-cum-actor, who were among a small group of foreigners stopped by the locals from allegedly performing “black magic” at Bhomwada on January 30, have claimed their act was misunderstood.
Russian woman Olga Makhnovetsky and Belarusian citizen Mikola Dranich, on Tuesday, addressed a press conference in the capital city, to clear allegations against them. Makhnovetsky, daughter of celebrated Russian filmmaker Yuri Marin said her troop had informed the local panchayat prior to holding the act, which is a part of their theatre performance.
“We want to make it absolutely clear that we were not performing any black magic. We are not ministers of any cult or ardent supporters of any religious outfit. It was a clear misunderstanding,” she said, adding, “We were only staging a drama based on the life of King Vikramaditya.”
Theatre artist Dranich, who also specializes in puppet shows, added that they are working on an Indian epic about King Vikramaditya and his seven-year-ordeal with the planet Saturn. “The story carries a strong legacy of Indian culture, which we love dearly. It was not black magic...Our performance was held on a Saturday because this day is considered to be ruled by the planet Saturn or ‘Shani’,” he said.
Makhnovetsky went on to add that the colours used in the storytelling are traditionally black and navy blue, which is the reason they chose to dress accordingly.
“We are heartbroken that our efforts to honour the ancient Indian story were met with such harshness. It was simply misunderstood by some well-meaning locals, who only wished to protect their loved ones from something harmful. We just wish they did not take us at face value and had the patience to understand that it was a theatrical performance, not some ominous ritual,” she said.
On January 30, suspicious activity in the evening hours prompted locals to alert the Pernem police, who stopped the act in the presence of the general public and the Panchayat members. The foreigners were thereafter taken to the police station for questioning.
