A Tale of Two Icons

Are you excited that your film Thinking of Him is the closing movie of IFFI? 

For me, it is the best thing that could happen to us, to show the movie in Goa as World Premiere. I have had a relationship with IFFI since 1994 when I was invited to present my third feature film, Grey Fire, in Kolkata. Later, I participated in the IFFI many times; I was also on the jury in 2007.

How did you get interested in the subject?

It all began in 2008 when I met the-then Ambassador of India in Argentina, R Viswanathan, who knew about my films. He told me that it would be very important to have a long feature film that narrated the meeting between Rabindranath Tagore and Victoria Ocampo in 1924. I loved the proposal. I was familiar with some of Tagore’s writings, especially Kabir’s translations; I had also read Purabi.

A still from Thinking of Him

How did go about your research on the subject?

I met with Jeronimo Toubes, Argentine scriptwriter. We began to study together. Jeronimo even made a trip to India in 2009 to investigate the subject. For four years, he carried out deep research on the subject. We loved the book of Ketaki Kushari Dyson In Your Blossoming Flower-Garden — a deep work on the relationship between Tagore and Ocampo. We read all the books concerning the educational work of Tagore in Bolpur, Santiniketan, since the focus of the film, although it is the relationship between Tagore and Ocampo, is the fascination of Victoria in the vision of a man on the education of the human soul. The book by Ocampo, Tagore in the ravines of San Isidro, as well as the letters exchanged between them helped us to discover the mutual fascination that existed between the two.

Is the relationship of Tagore with Ocampo well-known in your country?

The relationship is known in Argentina by people who are interested in the subject of literature and poetry. In a cultured population profile, this is well-known and highly valued in Argentina. Currently, the family home of Ocampo is owned by UNESCO and remains intact.

How have you approached their story, considering both are icons in their respective countries?

The first thing I proposed to myself and to Jeronimo, the scriptwriter, was to work only on facts about the meeting between Victoria and Tagore. In no way would it have occurred to me to construct scenes that did not exist or, at least, that have not been told in the letters or Ocampo’s book. Everything in the film is what exists in books and publications.

Earlier, you wanted to cast Naseeruddin Shah for the role. What made you cast Victor Banerjee?

It is very important to mention that I had the joy of getting a co-producer in India. India being the first film producing-country in the world, but mainly of musical style, it was not easy to find someone who could be interested in making a film that did not follow this style. I met Suraj Kumar, CEO of Johnsons-Suraj Films International and signed the contract in 2015. He suggested the name of Shah, and we went to see him in Mumbai. Issues of filming dates, fees and other things sometimes make a person participate in a movie, or not. Then the idea of seeing Victor came up. I met him at his Mussoorie home. The first thing that surprised me was his passion for Argentine literature. He gave me a beautiful version of Gitanjali. He gave me a lot of confidence to do the complex job of interpreting Tagore. Once I had the lead actor, I had to find an actor to play Ocampo. Returning to Argentina, I thought about Eleonora Wexler, who had played a small role in Grey Fire. Eleonora dedicated months to investigate the details about Victoria.

What are your memories of the festival when you had visited in 1994?

The screening of Grey Fire filled me with excitement and then, I had meetings with the press and film distributors. I had dinner with Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni at Taj Bengal, where he insisted: “Pablo, you have to film in India, this place has a lot to do with everything you do”. I am a lover of Sufi poetry and I explained that to Michelangelo. I remember one night I went to visit the crematorium where Satyajit Ray’s body was cremated in 1992. I’ve seen most of his films and consider him to be the great filmmaker of India.