Film about Tagore's friendship with writer Victoria Ocampo set to release in theatres across India on May 6

A press conference and special screening of Pablo César’s Indo-Argentinean film ‘Thinking of Him’ was recently held in the Capital ahead of the film’s theatrical release on May 6, 2022. The film, co-produced by award-winning Indian filmmaker Suraj Kumar, explores the Indian Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s platonic friendship with the Argentine writer Victoria Ocampo.

The event was attended by Kumar, Victor Banerjee, the legendary Indian actor who essays the part of Tagore in the film, Amarendra Khatua, former High Commissioner of India to Argentina who played a pivotal role in setting up the Indo-Argentinean project, Hugo Javier Gobbi, Ambassador of Argentina to India, Alberto A. Guani, Ambassador of Uruguay to India, Maria Belen Garcia Alcat, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Argentina, Johannes Höber, Cultural Counsellor at the Embassy of Germany, and noted German actress and theatre director Dr. Jacqueline Roussety.

César, who couldn’t make it to the event, shared a video message sharing his passion for the project and his love for India. “‘Thinking of Him’ has been a very special project. “Shooting in India and particularly Santiniketan was a very unique experience for me. I have known India since 1994, although it is difficult to know all of India. But over the years I have understood many things about the country and its people.”

César, who has been making films right from the age of 13, has recreated the Tagore-Ocampo encounters based on the real life story. While on his way to Peru to attend the centenary celebrations of the country’s independence, Tagore had to stop in Buenos Aires in the year 1924 for medical rest. Victoria, who was a great admirer of Tagore’s Gitanjali’ came to know about it and offered to take care of him. She rented a mansion in a suburb of Buenos Aires and put up Tagore there. The 63-year-old Tagore was rejuvenated by the charming young Ocampo, 34, who took care of him during his stay. The two are said to have formed a deep and emotional but platonic bond.

Sharing his thoughts about the film, Banerjee said, “It is important to understand that this film is actually about what Victoria Ocampo thought of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and it is not about what we think of him. While I was preparing for the role, I also had to understand what Victoria really felt for him as a woman, and as an intellectual. She was half his age when they met but there was something beyond mere admiration in their relationship. And it was Victoria who organized Tagore’s first art exhibition in Paris in 1930.” The chemistry between Banerjee and the Argentine actor Eleonora Wexler, who essays the part of Victoria, is a major highlight of the film.

Suraj Kumar shared his excitement about the film’s theatrical release after a long wait. “We are very thrilled that the film is finally releasing in the theatres across India and that too on the occasion of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s 161st birth anniversary. As a co-producer, I consider myself really been fortunate to have a director someone like Pablo who gave me great creative freedom in all the departments including casting. And to have an actor of Victor Banerjee’s pedigree in the central role of Tagore is nothing less than a dream come true,” rejoiced Kumar. The film also stars the noted Bengali actress Raima Sen and Héctor Bordoni in pivotal roles.