Of Times There Were Before (2026): Cast, Story and Release

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Of Times There Were Before offers an intimate portrait of historian and public intellectual Romila Thapar. Filmed at her New Delhi home, the 2026 documentary considers the person behind a widely recognized name and a lifetime devoted to studying India’s past and present.

Of Times There Were Before is a documentary portrait of Romila Thapar, the influential historian and public intellectual whose work has shaped discussions of Indian history. Rather than presenting only the authority associated with her name, the film turns its attention to the person behind that public image.

Directed by Eshan Sharma, the film was made at Thapar’s home in New Delhi. At 94, she reflects the unusual position of someone who has spent a lifetime studying the past while also witnessing much of modern India take shape around her.

Of Times There Were Before movie details

Story without spoilers

The documentary begins with a straightforward question: who is Romila Thapar beyond the historian known through her work? Its portrait centers on an encounter with her at home, moving away from a formal account of her reputation and toward a more personal understanding of the individual behind it.

The film places Thapar’s life in conversation with the time she has lived through and the history she has studied. It does not simply treat her as a name associated with scholarship; instead, it presents a portrait of a 94-year-old intellectual still engaging with her own era and its changing context.

What to expect

As a documentary, Of Times There Were Before is built around a real-life subject rather than a fictional plot. The premise suggests a reflective, interview-led portrait shaped by Thapar’s presence, her personal setting in New Delhi and the relationship between her life, her historical work and modern India.

Viewers can expect the film to focus on biography and intellectual identity, with attention to the distinction between a public figure’s reputation and the person who exists behind it. The supplied synopsis does not indicate a conventional narrative structure or dramatized scenes.

Cast and creative team

Of Times There Were Before is directed by Eshan Sharma. Romila Thapar is the documentary’s central subject. No cast or writing credits are listed beyond the director’s credit.

Release and production context

Of Times There Were Before is a 2026 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour and 23 minutes. It is listed as released on November 3, 2026. The supplied information does not specify a country, spoken language or production company.

Movies Dock view

Of Times There Were Before approaches Romila Thapar through the space between her public identity and her private presence. Its focus on a historian looking back from within the world she has studied gives the film a clear biographical and reflective frame, while the New Delhi setting keeps the portrait closely connected to the person at its center.

Film data:
TMDB