So, how did writer-filmmaker Tagore Almeida get
his name? This is the first question I ask the renowned director and he answers
with alacrity, “My late father, Romeo Almeida was a journalist in his earlier
days and a big fan of Rabindranath Tagore, and that’s why I was given the name.
I am ever so grateful to my folks for giving me this very cool name.”

The artiste who strongly believes in “One
World, One Faith, One Race, One Colour, Just A Different Face” says that “the
biggest failure of us people” in today’s society “is the man-made divide we
have created and live by in society driven by politics and especially
religion.”

“ I think the day we realize, especially if you
believe in a God, that this creation was created for us to respect and live in
and not to fight in the name of the one who created it. We truly have One
World, our faith is the same, a belief in a supreme being and we are the Human
Race. We are painted with a common colour of life and we celebrate just a
beautiful and different face. How difficult is that to understand?,” he told
Opoyi.

“Separation, hatred, and destruction are the saddest
things we can pass on to our kids,” said Tagore who is celebrating his birthday
today.

Born in picturesque Goa, where he lived till
the age of 15, he left for the United Kingdom and spent around 9 years there
pursuing his full-time higher education in Computer Studies, part-time in film
making and “my every breath becoming a citizen of the world.”

“It was during my life in London, that I
conceived and formed a group which was aimed at promoting peace, love, and
tolerance in the world. In London, I got exposed to the rest of the world, and
with that came a harsh reality that many parts of the world were killing each
other in the name of religions, colours, and races,” he said.

He scripted and directed his first short film
in Mumbai called “A God of Sinners”, which went to various film festivals such
as Cannes, Los Angeles and Vancouver among others.

“A God Of Sinners was a page out of my own life
in terms of how it was told. The four guys on a Friday night hanging out and
thinking where to party and which girls to connect with were very much part of
college life, so was the language, but added to that was a layer of human
concern. It is bad when people fight but when brothers fight, that is a real
tragedy for mankind. So it took a look at how the happenings in the outside
world knock on our doors and creep into our internal world,” he said.

He feels that international recognition is
extremely important.

“Recognition is key because it helps
open doors, important doors. International or National recognition is also
important, because being a Goan what is
the point telling my own people that I am a Goan and about Goa, but going out
and telling them about my roots and my Goa is what matters to me. Look at the
magic that Remo (Fernandes), the late Wendell (Rodricks), and Mario (Miranda)
have done for Goa, amongst many others I am sure,” he said.

Calling cinema his first love, he says that he
is “not a poet, as I feel calling me a port poet will not be fair to actual
poets. “

“I am a lyricist , a street poet, influenced by
Rasta, Hip Hop, and other pop culture. Having said that, my verses have always
been my companion to handle my loneliness, breakups and even joy,” said the
storyteller.

So is there a message Tagore wants to convey
through his writing and cinema?

“Ofcourse, if not why tell a story? ‘Uss Din’
is about the consequences of hatred, God Of Sinners was about brotherhood and
friendship. The forgiveness is about Introverts who one-day breakdown that wall
that they hide behind. Alive was a black and white silent horror film, looking
at the vulnerability of people on both sides of those two worlds, namely life
and death,” he said.

He also says that cinema is the most effective
means of art.

“Poetry, unfortunately, doesn’t have many
takers, though the #SpokenWord movement had helped revive the poetry scene. Of
course, RAP did it best. I have two SpokenWord videos on my YouTube Channel,”
he said, and added that “mainstream popularity helps with getting other
projects off the ground.”

“ Everything else is just short-lived. If we
let success go to our heads we will never grow and never learn, if that happens
what is the point in waking up each morning. Popularity is great, has many
advantages but if not analysed well in our lives can be a downfall in the worst
possible way.”

So what next?

“December 2020 will see the release of my first
book ‘Tie Emperor Cried’ which is my journey through the paths of spirituality.
Next year I will have my first book of verses out called ‘The Goan Who Sold His
Feni’,” he said.

“I think I am doing that more for the name of
the book than the book itself (giggle). Finally, my next short, ‘The
Forgiveness’, hopefully still with Neil Nitin Mukesh once COVID settles. I now
need to focus on selling God Of Sinners and Alive too,” he added.