the goan I network
PANAJI
At a time when many mainstream Bollywood actors do not think twice before sucking up to the right-wing powers that be in India, famed Brazilian actor of the hit Netflix series “Narcos”, Wagner Moura on Tuesday went hammer and tongs on right-wing Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro at the “In-Conversation” session at the Maquinez Palace at IFFI.
Moura told a jam-packed audience of his fans that it was currently the “worst time in Brazilian history,” for Brazil had elected a far-right president who was a “despicable” human being.
“The political scene in Brazil is terrible. Bolsonaro praises torturers and dictators,” said Moura, a former journalist who is in Goa to promote his directorial debut “Marighella” at the IFFI.
Speaking about why he had decided to make the film “Marighella” which tells the story of Carlos Marighella, a controversial Marxist guerrilla fighter during the beginning of Brazil’s military dictatorship, which lasted from 1964 to 1985, Moura said, “the political scene in Brazil is really bad right now. We’ve elected a fascist president.”
Moura also said that his film Marighella is censored, and that the president of Brazil recorded a video thrash-talking both Moura and the film. “We had the film’s premier cancelled in Brazil, but are traveling everywhere in the world with the film,” he said.
When asked whether he thought other actors were not more politically outspoken, Moura said that he felt people would speak out when they were ready for it and when it’s something they felt strongly about. “Regardless of whether it’s an actor or anyone else, there should be no pressure to speak out. I say the things that I say because I would be very unhappy if I know I have something to say and don’t say it,” he said.
The actor who played Pablo Escobar in “Narcos” also said that he pays a big price for speaking out against the right wing government in Brazil. “You have to speak out if you’re ready for the backlash. I can take it,” he said.
Moura’s comments on Bolsonaro come at a significant time for India as the Brazilian president has been invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be chief guest at India’s Republic Day on January 26. The choice of chief guest has been controversial as besides being on the extreme right of the political spectrum, Bolsonaro was also blamed in a big way for the Amazon forest fires that raged across the Amazon earlier this year.
