'Thinking of Him' focuses on Tagore's intellectual pursuits, not his Argentine romance: Victor Banerjee

“The movie takes off from the discovery of Tagore and his liberal education system by a Geography professor -- to be played by Argentine actor Hector Bordoni -- in Shantiniketan and his pursuit of Tagore's learning and liberal education,” said Banerjee.

The film is being directed by Argentine director, Pablo Cesar and  jointly produced by Johnsons-Suraj Films International, India and Caesar Production, Argentina.

The film focuses on Tagore's meeting with Argentine writer Victoria Ocampo, whom he used to address as Bijoya in his letters.

Tagore, on his way to Peru from Europe in 1924, had fallen ill and spent two months recuperating in San Isidro in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, when Ocampo took care of him.

Tagore dedicated `Purabi', a collection of poems and songs, to Ocampo.

It was Ocampo who organised Tagore's first art exhibition in Paris in 1930.

The character of Victoria Ocampo would be played by Argentine actress, Eleonora Wexner.

The film stars Raima Sen, who was also present at the conference along with several Argentine actors.

Talking about her character, Raima said, “She is a local girl born and brought up in Shantiniketan, studied in Tagore's school, and basically she lives that way of life. She helps the Geography professor in his discovery of Tagore.”

Raima speaking about the opportunity to work in this film said, “I am excited to work with Pablo Cesar because it's an international project and a great exposure for me. For the first time, I am working with a foreign director, so I would be able to see how they used to work.”

Director Pablo Cesar said, “There are going to be four to five songs and the length of the film would be approximately one hundred minutes.”

He also said, “The education-related theme inspired me to make this film. The story of Tagore and Ocampo gave me the possibility to tell our people that we need a change in the education system.”

Regarding casting, he said, “We chose Victor over Amitabh Bachchan and Naseeruddin Shah to play the role of Tagore because we wanted a Bengali for the role.”

The director said that the film will be shot in Shantiniketan, Bolpur, Kolkata, Sunderban and some parts of Argentina and will be made in three languages, namely English, Spanish and Bengali.

(Reporting by Souvik Ghosh, Images by Souvik Das/IBNS)