We wept when Goa was being invaded: Portuguese filmmaker Panaji, (PTI): When Goa was being liberated in 1961, the family of Portuguese filmmaker, Luis Galvao Teles, moaned back home over "Indians invading Portuguese territory."
But 46 years later, the filmmaker, who has made his first trip to this erstwhile colony, is "happy that Indians liberated Goa." "I remember when Goa was being liberated, we wept at home. My entire family prayed that Indians should not succeed in their mission," Teles, here to participate in the on-going International Film Festival of India (IFII), told PTI in an interview Saturday. The filmmaker was 12-years-old then, and his father was representing the Portuguese Government in the international court at The Hague in its case against "India's invasion on Portuguese territory." Goa, which was under Portuguese rule for almost 450 years, was liberated in 1961 after the Indian Armed Forces successfully completed `Operation Vijay'. The mission was fallout of Portugal's repeated refusal to accept India's request to give up their control over the tiny state on the west coast. "Portugal won the case in the international court, but nothing happened," Teles stated. Teles, whose Portuguese-Spanish work 'Fados' will be the closing movie for IFFI on December 3, is now eyeing Bollywood, and further links with the coastal state. His another movie 'Dot Com', a Portuguese comedy, is featuring in the Cinema of the World Section of IFFI. http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/009200712011522.htm ~(^^)~ Avelino
