If all goes well, Amitabh Bachchan might soon have a brush with Bengali. Argentinian filmmaker Pablo Cesar is set to bring Rabindranath Tagore’s encounter with Argentine writer Victoria Ocampo on the big screen, and wants the actor to play the role of the Nobel Laureate.
The filmmaker’s script is ready, but the project has been delayed and won’t release in time for Tagore’s 150th birth centenary this year, as he’d hoped for. Now, Cesar says, “We have got financial backing from an Argentinean film association. And we plan to approach Amitabh Bachchan in Mumbai,” says Cesar, who is in Goa to attend the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
Cesar plans to title the film, Thinking Of Him, which were the last words Ocampo mentioned in the telegram she sent to his family after Tagore passed away. The film will be partly period and partly set in modern day. The filmmaker plans to shoot in Kolkata, Shantiniketan and Sunderbans, as well as in Argentina.
The director, whose film, Shores, is being screened at IFFI, is likely to make the film in Bengali/Spanish. Apparently, Argentina is the only Latin American country that Tagore visited and spent time in.
It’s believed that Tagore’s stint in Argentina revolved mostly around a personal encounter with Ocampo, which reflected in his creative work and in the work of Ocampo herself. Apparently, the famous Tagore song, ‘Ogo bideshini…’ was written keeping her in mind.
For the uninitiated, Cesar is looked upon as a pioneer in developing co-productions between Argentina, India, Tunisia and Mali. He has spent many years shooting a trilogy inspired by old Sufi poems and ancient mythology. He has also been teaching at the University of Cinema in Buenos Aires since 1992.
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