Because Life Is a Chance

Cinema The Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mother Teresa changed the lives of countless people. So did the author’s, as the film “Mother Teresa & Me” powerfully reminds her.

On my mother’s bedside table, right up until her death, stood a framed photo of an Indian nun. She wears a white sari with a blue border and is smiling as she holds a baby in her arms: me. It is the first picture of me that my parents received from the Missionaries of Charity, the religious congregation founded by Mother Teresa in 1950. Shortly beforehand, they had decided to adopt me at the beginning of the 1980s. The photo was taken in an orphanage in Bombay, and at that time my name was Kavita.

The same name is borne by one of the two protagonists in the film “Mother Teresa & Me” by the Swiss‑Indian director Kamal Musale. In two parallel narratives, the biographies of Kavita, a young woman living in London, and of Mother Teresa are interwoven.

Kavita’s storyline is set in the present day, while Mother Teresa’s begins in the mid‑1940s in Calcutta, now Kolkata, India.

While Kavita (Banita Sandhu) discovers she is pregnant after an accident and goes to hospital, Mother Teresa—then still a Loreto nun—feels a calling during a train journey to care for the poorest of the poor.

Men, women, street children. Against all resistance—initially from the Catholic Church itself, and shortly afterwards from parts of the population who feared conversions to Christianity—she founded her own order and set up a home for the dying. Yet while she became an icon through her work in the slums, Mother Teresa went through a severe crisis of faith. In a bare cell she wrote despairing letters to God, oscillating between moments of presence and doubt. Only the Jesuit fathers leading retreats for the Loreto order, companions from the very beginning, did she confide her inner distress to. She experienced a profound crisis of faith from which she emerged strengthened. The Swiss actress Jacqueline Fritschi‑Cornaz succeeds in portraying Mother Teresa with down‑to‑earth persistence and warmth. This deeply human approach offers a look behind the saintly myth and shows Mother Teresa as I have always liked to imagine her: a practical woman who could roll up her sleeves and improvise when bureaucracy or religious rules stood in her way. But also a contradictory woman whose strict stance on abortion provoked offence.

How would I feel?

Kavita, too, wants to put her life in order after finding out she is pregnant at the end of her twenties. Her boyfriend has disappeared, and instead of having an abortion at a hospital in London, she cannot bring herself to decide. Because she remembers her birth in a children’s home in Bombay/Kolkata only vaguely, she travels to India. There she meets Deepali, the head of the orphanage where she once lived as an infant. In conversations with her and with other women, Kavita manages to draw closer to the child in her womb and to make a decision.

The film alternates between intimate, quiet moments and big, rough city scenes: crowded streets, rickshaws, shouting vendors, temples, slums. Again and again the question hovers in the air of whether life is a chance—or a burden. The camera stays close to the people living in the alleyways; to the men who are day labourers; to the women who earn their living with small jobs; to children sleeping in their mothers’ arms. And in their midst stands Kavita, arms folded, fighting her inner turmoil. Thoughts of her child run through her mind, as does the question of how much suffering could be prevented by contraception and abortion.

How would I myself feel in the face of such a sight? I, too, slept in a dormitory like that before I came to Switzerland, and I also take a critical view of Mother Teresa’s hardline position on abortion. Even if I might not exist had my biological mother had access to that option.

Unlike many other people adopted from abroad, I never felt the need to go searching for traces of my origins in order to feel “whole”. My parents informed me about my background when I asked, but they never pushed it on me. They would have supported me unconditionally in searching for my birth mother and would have travelled with me to that country if I had wanted. But they also said I should not feel obligated to do so. I am infinitely grateful to them for that. It allowed me truly to arrive. Home is where the people are whom you love and where you feel needed. Mother Teresa, too, did not find her vocation in the place where she was born.

Kavita in the film likewise realises that she does not have to burn every bridge in order to reorganise her life. Changing the world for the better begins with holding a door for someone or carrying their shopping. And that her fear that London has been waiting too long for her is unfounded. The question of whether or not she keeps her child becomes less central; more important is that she takes her life into her own hands. “Life is a chance—take it,” runs a line from a text by Mother Teresa. I owe these chances to her life’s work.

“Mother Teresa & Me” reminds me that it is my free decision how I want to use this life.

Mother Teresa & Me, drama by Kamal Musale, starring Banita Sandhu, Jacqueline Fritschi‑Cornaz, Deepti Naval et al., Switzerland/India, United Kingdom, 2022, 122 minutes.

Text: Monika Bettschen

Marley’s “Get Up, Stand Up” inspired Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz

Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz (61) is an actress and film producer. The Zurich native currently appears in the lead role of the film Mother Teresa & Me. She already celebrated the theatrical premiere in October 2022 in Zurich, together with the film team led by the director Kamal Musale.

What it’s about

• GOAT Radio brings listeners the greatest hits of all time, focusing on pop and rock songs from the 1980s.
• In the series “Music That Made Me,” Swiss personalities share their private greatest hits—from first fan moments to the music that softens life’s crises.
• Actress Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz (61) recalls how one song shattered her childhood world, her wild teenage years, and the soundtrack to her first kiss.

Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz, what was the first album you bought?

That was the Beatles’ White Album; a work with two LPs and a poster of each of the four great musicians. In my wild years I happily hung those then-“hippies” on my bedroom door and cranked up the volume—both to my parents’ annoyance …

Music that reminds you of your childhood?

Through his piano improvisations, Tuco Grunauer opened up the world of dance and artistic expression to me in children’s ballet. Back then I discovered the magic of the stage; that passion never let me go. Thank you, Tuco!

Music you never understood or liked before, but love today?

The other way around! As a small child I loved folk music and told my mother that at 90 I’d like to request a Ländler on the radio. Sorry—please no!

Which songs or albums have been especially important in your life?

Every phase was important: from the chart hits of the 1970s to ABBA, the disco era, the Italian cantautori, Argentine tango, the songs from my stage productions I was involved in, as well as songs and pieces that accompany and support me in the emotional work of building roles.

Is there music that changed how you think about the world?

“Get Up, Stand Up” by Bob Marley. This song inspired me greatly and made me aware that all of us, as individuals, can personally engage and contribute to a better world—and make things happen.

A song that turned your life upside down.

“Sag mir, wo die Blumen sind,” sung by Marlene Dietrich [in German after “Where have all the flowers gone’’]. I was five years old and heard this song right after the midday news on the radio, which reported on the Six-Day War. My childhood world collapsed back then.

In which musical era would you have liked to live?

The 1920s with the Charleston—I would have loved to experience that, musically and fashion-wise.

A set of lyrics you know by heart.

“I Did It My Way” by Frank Sinatra.

Your favorite karaoke song?

“Simply the Best” by Tina Turner.

A song that gives you courage or hope.

“I’m Still Standing” by Elton John; time and again fireworks display of strength and motivation.

A song you love but wouldn’t brag about?

“Für mich soll’s rote Rosen regnen” by Hildegard Knef.

The soundtrack to your first kiss?

“Angie” by The Rolling Stones—on New Year’s Eve 1980, slow dancing in the Sardona Bar in Flims, wearing my new cable-knit sweater.

A song that always makes you cry or gives you goosebumps?

“Les hommes qui passent” by Patricia Kaas.

The best song or album for celebrating something?

“The Loco-Motion” by Kylie Minogue or “Raspberry Beret” by Prince.

Music for the dance floor?

“Upside Down” by Diana Ross or “A Dios Le Pido” by Juanes.

A song that helps you let out anger or frustration especially well?

“It’s a Man’s Man’s World” by Marla Glen.

A song that gets you out of bed in the morning?

“I Say a Little Prayer” by Aretha Franklin.

Music that always helps you relax?

Classical music; from Anna Mahler to Alexander von Zemlinsky.

Which musician—dead or alive—would you like to spend a day with or paint the town with?

With the composers of the music for the film Mother Teresa & Me by Kamal Musale: Laurence Crevoisier, Annick Roddy, Peter Scherer, and Walter Mair. Magnificent, what these musicians created!

Source: Melanie Biedermann, “Marley’s ‘Get Up, Stand Up’ inspired Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz,” 20 Minuten. Link: https://www.20min.ch/story/marleys-get-up-stand-up-inspirierte-jacqueline-fritschi-cornaz-277676317650

Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz: The Inner Light

What makes Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz shine ?

Jacqueline is Mother Teresa or Coco Chanel. She is a well-known Swiss film and stage actress who never aimed for the grand cinema spotlight—yet she made it there, and at an age when many others tend to lament a lack of roles. In a profession where it is often about appearance and reality, she is a small, luminous star.

When we say in this issue that youth is the North Star for society as a whole, and that youthfulness is increasingly leaping fluidly across generations, then we ought to listen closely to this lady.

Ladies Drive: What moves you most now?

Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz: Still the Swiss‑Indian‑British film “Mother Teresa & Me” by Kamal Musale.

It’s an incredible joy that this passion project is already showing in cinemas in 20 countries. Imagine—it took a 15‑year journey to realize this visionary project, something that had never existed in this form before. From the initial idea to global fundraising, production, and distribution; it was a mammoth team effort. And all the proceeds from the film go to NGOs that support the poorest children in their education and healthcare.

Behind this film stands the Zariya Foundation, whose goal is to inspire people worldwide to commit in their own environment, to respect, tolerance, and love, across religions, cultures, and social backgrounds. Especially in a world once again full of conflicts and wars, there is so much we can do in our personal sphere, and we can encourage others to believe that, as individuals, they too can do good.

As Mother Teresa said: we must get into action, bring love into action, for anything to happen at all. Last year we were able to celebrate the U.S. premiere at United Nations Headquarters in New York. In parallel, the film ran in more than 700 U.S. cinemas. In Switzerland, after its theatrical release, the film is now available via Swisscom blue. Swisscom is donating the entire proceeds to the foundation, which is fantastic.

And what’s next for you?

Well, I finally have a bit of breathing room again—and the desire for a new role. I asked myself which female figure I could portray as an actress not merely as a myth, but as a fully rounded personality with all her facets. Women are often presented “only” as idols—Mother Teresa included.

And which female icon have you chosen?

Coco Chanel—because she has so many facets, of which people don’t know. She was, for example, a great patron of the arts. She took in Stravinsky and his entire family at her villa and financed, in today’s terms, around 400,000 euros for the reworking of The Rite of Spring. She was revolutionary in fashion and, among other things, had a suite at the Ritz—which, it must be said, served as the Nazi headquarters during the Second World War.

Through her relationship with Baron Hans Günther von Dincklage, she also allowed herself to be used as a spy, among other things to free her nephew from a German prison. After her arrest, she was released only thanks to her friendship with Winston Churchill and lived for nine years in Lausanne. From my research I developed five engaging, entertaining scenes, which I’m now bringing to the stage—including at Belvoirpark in Zurich.

It’s going to be wonderful! We are combining the theater evening with a small exhibition and a dinner. The audience should feel like guests in one of Coco Chanel’s villas or in the lobby of the Ritz. The five‑course menu will be staged by the chef to match the piece.

Wow—that sounds exciting. Tell us—what drives you?

When I was five years old, in a children’s ballet, I discovered the stage and performing. That’s when I first felt like an instrument, a channel through which I could reach people and pass something on. It fulfilled me deeply. If I manage to move an audience—to inspire, to motivate, to prompt self‑reflection—that’s a gift to me.

How hard is it for a Swiss actress to build an international career?

Big careers are rare. It’s very difficult. But it was never my primary goal. I quickly realized I’m happier joining with others to create our own production that I can truly stand behind, rather than wait to be “discovered.” We were, for example, a fantastic team for “Mother Teresa & Me,” and I consider it a blessing and a privilege that we succeeded in making this film and are celebrating international success with it.

It’s great that we’re reaching so many people. But for me, very small productions can also be true passion projects. It’s not about international success. That it happened is fantastic and it surely helps me on my path. But I’ve never waited for things to come. If you wait, you only get frustrated.

How do you deal with the fact that so much in life revolves around youth? “Sixty is the new forty.” What’s your take?

I’m an aesthete. Naturally, it matters to me to let my personality shine. But I honestly don’t have the time to stand in front of the mirror counting wrinkles. Everyday I’m grateful for the chance to work in a profession through which I can entertain and stimulate others, slip into a role, or build a project with others that has an impact.

In my private circle I’m also surrounded by people who don’t subject me to that pressure, and where I’m seen as Jacqueline. There I can be myself. And I’m in a partnership with my husband, with whom I share a fulfilling togetherness and an exciting life. I’m very grateful for that.

So good to hear! But I do understand that many feel the pressure to look fresh so that people keep trusting them with responsibility at work.

Yes, of course, I understand that too. I’m 62—and I play Coco Chanel at different stages of life. That works as well—thanks to makeup and wigs! In my job I’m allowed to live out things that, say, a manager wouldn’t get to live out, I get to experience things, to immerse myself in other lives—that’s my El Dorado, my fountain of youth, so to speak. Because I also dive into areas that are foreign to me, or those with which I wouldn’t agree to in normal life.

What has all this slipping into other lives done to you as a person?

I’m very grateful and humble about life. We filmed in Mumbai and Kolkata during the pandemic. That was an incredible challenge. When you see how the majority of people on this planet live, you feel endless gratitude. We are allowed to grow up in Switzerland, to get an education, to realize ourselves. I believe it’s also our responsibility to do something for this world.

Give a little back?

Yes, absolutely. But not out of guilt. I discovered that through acting it’s possible to inspire and to give others strength and courage—and that’s possible in other professions or in private life, too. We have so much more potential within us than we think. That’s so much more important and fulfilling than being frustrated by the urge or wish for eternal youth.

I think once you’ve felt how much comes back when you give, you’ll do it again and again. Give without intent, without expectation. Usually something does come back—perhaps from somewhere entirely different. That is so soul‑nourishing. We know wonderful quotes from Mother Teresa—for example: “Don’t wait for leaders, do it alone, person to person.” That’s a guiding principle for me, strengthening my belief that together we can “move mountains.”

Especially in the business world, where women sometimes feel so alone and think: I can’t move anything anyway, I’ll never get there, I’m not seen. And then they think they need to change something in their face, or elsewhere, to be seen and recognized. I don’t judge that, but I feel that if we trust the energy within us, our “true self” will radiate.

Absolutely. You mentioned allowing what’s inside to shine. How do you do that?

I think it does have to do with one’s own contentment, feeling peace within oneself and within oneself, feeling understood and loved in one’s environment, understanding what does you good and what nourishes you. I believe you can draw a great deal of radiance from your own happiness. And sometimes, I think, it’s also about very consciously lighting your own inner light – your little lamp. I also have days when I struggle more, when I’m frustrated because, for example, I’ve received yet another rejection for a casting or a tour venue. At those times you sometimes have to light that inner light quite deliberately yourself. I then seek quiet. I withdraw. I sit in the bathtub or go to a favorite place where I can just come back to myself for a moment. To come into silence and to endure it. That helps enormously.

Sources: Sandra‑Stella Triebl, “Jacqueline Fritschi‑Cornaz: Das innere Licht,” Ladies Drive Magazin, No. 67 (Autumn 2024). Published online October 3, 2024. Link: https://ladiesdrive.world/online/jacqueline-fritschi-cornaz-das-innere-licht/

US premiere of Mother Teresa & Me at United Nations Headquarters in New York United Nations International Day of Charity.

Fresh and forceful: Mother Teresa & Me offers a new look at an iconic saint.

Mother Teresa & Me, a new film, uses a fresh narrative frame to tell a powerful story about Mother Teresa, the famous saint of Calcutta. Teresa is such an iconic figure that she is hard to dramatize in art. Director and writer Kamal Musale solves this by making Mother Teresa & Me the story of two women—not just one.

Mother Teresa & Me portrays both Mother Teresa’s early years in India and the parallel story of Kavita, a young British violinist in the present day. By cutting back and forth between the two strands, the film achieves something that would otherwise be missing: suspense. Instead of merely watching yet another documentary about Mother Teresa, the audience wonders: Why are these two stories being told together? Little by little the answers emerge. The two women share similar traits—pride, perseverance, independent thinking, and a desire to do something great with their lives. Yet while Kavita is focused on herself, her relationship, and her career, Teresa aims for heaven.

Framing a parallel plot—two women, not just one

While Kavita makes music in modern, secular Britain, Mother Teresa navigates the bureaucracy of the Catholic Church as she feels called to help the poor and the dying and to teach poor girls in India. Kavita is a successful classical musician with a boyfriend. They are not married, and she is surprised to discover that she is pregnant. Her boyfriend pressures her to have an abortion. Instead, she travels to Calcutta (Kolkata), her parents’ birthplace, which she hasn’t visited since childhood. This is not a simple hagiography of Mother Teresa, but closer to a mystery film. Kavita—the embodiment of an educated, modern, liberal woman—goes to a place she considers a religious and cultural backwater. At the request of Deepali, a family friend who was adopted by Mother Teresa, Kavita visits Teresa’s mission, Nirmal Hriday. The experience changes Kavita’s life.

Honest and sympathetic character portrayals

What’s refreshing about Mother Teresa & Me is not only its narrative structure but also how sympathetically and truthfully it treats its characters. It would have been easy to render Kavita as a cardboard cutout—an egotistical feminist, atheist, and an artist who despises Christianity. But Banita Sandhu (in her second film after Shoojit Sircar’s October) plays Kavita as an intelligent and sensitive violinist. She is worldly and hesitant to engage with India and spiritual ideas, but not harsh or self-absorbed. She is thoroughly modern yet has a conscience. She is visibly tormented and uncertain as her boyfriend Paul— even while she is in Calcutta—leaves messages on her phone pressuring her to abort. Kavita remembers something Mother Teresa told her when she was a small child living in India: “God gave you your life. What you do with your life is your gift to Him.” Even so, she repeats the secular maxim: “It’s a woman’s body—she can do what she wants with it.”

Please support The Stream: empowering Christians to think clearly about the political, economic, and moral issues of our time.

But Kavita’s biological mother Aparna (the excellent Shobu Kapoor) and her spiritual mother (Teresa) gradually draw out the goodness of life and the sanctity of children. The film does not shy away from the poverty and religious tensions in India. When a man tries to drive Teresa away because “she wants to convert us,” his wife calls him “a lazy drunk” and points out that Teresa—not he—is bringing money into Calcutta and teaching the children to read. Mother Teresa & Me is also honest about Catholic bureaucracy, which initially rebuffed Teresa. A priest slams the church door in her face and tells Teresa—already wearing the white Saree that would later become iconic—to “take off that ridiculous uniform.”

Receiving grace

Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz is wonderful as Mother Teresa, striking precisely the balance between gentle submission to the authorities of the Vatican and to God, and an iron will. Especially powerful is the scene in which a desperate Teresa—nearly broken by the failure of her plans and the omnipresent poverty and suffering—cries out to God. In that moment she is not a “saint,” but—like all of us—a human being who at times struggles in bewilderment with the ways of the Lord.

In the end, God of course speaks to Mother Teresa and removes the obstacles that had hindered her life’s work. Kavita cannot help but absorb some of this grace. She chooses life, and the brief, understated scene—only a few seconds—where she leaves Paul a message carries enormous moral weight. “I thought you cared about me,” Kavita says quietly into the phone. She does not shout but appears serenely justified—for she has found a truly loving and unshakable foundation for her life.

Mark Judge is a writer and filmmaker in Washington, D.C. His new book is The Devil’s Triangle: Mark Judge vs the New American Stasi.

Fresh and forceful: Mother Teresa & Me offers a new look at an iconic saint.

Mother Teresa & Me, a new film, uses a fresh narrative frame to tell a powerful story about Mother Teresa, the famous saint of Calcutta. Teresa is such an iconic figure that she is hard to dramatize in art. Director and writer Kamal Musale solves this by making Mother Teresa & Me the story of two women—not just one.

Mother Teresa & Me portrays both Mother Teresa’s early years in India and the parallel story of Kavita, a young British violinist in the present day. By cutting back and forth between the two strands, the film achieves something that would otherwise be missing: suspense. Instead of merely watching yet another documentary about Mother Teresa, the audience wonders: Why are these two stories being told together? Little by little the answers emerge. The two women share similar traits—pride, perseverance, independent thinking, and a desire to do something great with their lives. Yet while Kavita is focused on herself, her relationship, and her career, Teresa aims for heaven.

Framing a parallel plot—two women, not just one

While Kavita makes music in modern, secular Britain, Mother Teresa navigates the bureaucracy of the Catholic Church as she feels called to help the poor and the dying and to teach poor girls in India. Kavita is a successful classical musician with a boyfriend. They are not married, and she is surprised to discover that she is pregnant. Her boyfriend pressures her to have an abortion. Instead, she travels to Calcutta (Kolkata), her parents’ birthplace, which she hasn’t visited since childhood. This is not a simple hagiography of Mother Teresa, but closer to a mystery film. Kavita—the embodiment of an educated, modern, liberal woman—goes to a place she considers a religious and cultural backwater. At the request of Deepali, a family friend who was adopted by Mother Teresa, Kavita visits Teresa’s mission, Nirmal Hriday. The experience changes Kavita’s life.

Honest and sympathetic character portrayals

What’s refreshing about Mother Teresa & Me is not only its narrative structure but also how sympathetically and truthfully it treats its characters. It would have been easy to render Kavita as a cardboard cutout—an egotistical feminist, atheist, and an artist who despises Christianity. But Banita Sandhu (in her second film after Shoojit Sircar’s October) plays Kavita as an intelligent and sensitive violinist. She is worldly and hesitant to engage with India and spiritual ideas, but not harsh or self-absorbed. She is thoroughly modern yet has a conscience. She is visibly tormented and uncertain as her boyfriend Paul— even while she is in Calcutta—leaves messages on her phone pressuring her to abort. Kavita remembers something Mother Teresa told her when she was a small child living in India: “God gave you your life. What you do with your life is your gift to Him.” Even so, she repeats the secular maxim: “It’s a woman’s body—she can do what she wants with it.”

Please support The Stream: empowering Christians to think clearly about the political, economic, and moral issues of our time.

But Kavita’s biological mother Aparna (the excellent Shobu Kapoor) and her spiritual mother (Teresa) gradually draw out the goodness of life and the sanctity of children. The film does not shy away from the poverty and religious tensions in India. When a man tries to drive Teresa away because “she wants to convert us,” his wife calls him “a lazy drunk” and points out that Teresa—not he—is bringing money into Calcutta and teaching the children to read. Mother Teresa & Me is also honest about Catholic bureaucracy, which initially rebuffed Teresa. A priest slams the church door in her face and tells Teresa—already wearing the white Saree that would later become iconic—to “take off that ridiculous uniform.”

Receiving grace

Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz is wonderful as Mother Teresa, striking precisely the balance between gentle submission to the authorities of the Vatican and to God, and an iron will. Especially powerful is the scene in which a desperate Teresa—nearly broken by the failure of her plans and the omnipresent poverty and suffering—cries out to God. In that moment she is not a “saint,” but—like all of us—a human being who at times struggles in bewilderment with the ways of the Lord.

In the end, God of course speaks to Mother Teresa and removes the obstacles that had hindered her life’s work. Kavita cannot help but absorb some of this grace. She chooses life, and the brief, understated scene—only a few seconds—where she leaves Paul a message carries enormous moral weight. “I thought you cared about me,” Kavita says quietly into the phone. She does not shout but appears serenely justified—for she has found a truly loving and unshakable foundation for her life.

Mark Judge is a writer and filmmaker in Washington, D.C. His new book is The Devil’s Triangle: Mark Judge vs the New American Stasi.

This Swiss co-production smartly illuminates the work and life of Mother Teresa while at the same time telling its own story with delicate, moving themes.

The excellent idea behind this biographical film is to tell the story of Mother Teresa (Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz) through the eyes of a contemporary figure: Kavita (Banita Sandhu), a young London violinist with Hindu roots. At first glance, little connects this brilliant musician with the nun who tirelessly served people marked by poverty, hunger, and disease. And yet, after an accident, Kavita steps back from her life and—unconsciously—draws closer to Saint Teresa of Calcutta.

The parallel construction of these two women’s destinies prevents the film from becoming a purely “textbook” biopic that merely recounts the life of a famous person—as is all too often the case. The flashbacks to Mother Teresa’s life resonate with Kavita’s present-day story.

This narrative device allows the film to show the work, courage, and perseverance of this figure of charity, while also developing an original story with its own themes. It is a quest for origins into which the question of abortion is woven. Here too, with its cocktail of religion—charity—abortion, the film could easily have slipped into demagoguery; nevertheless, it remains intelligently balanced, coherent, and affecting.

One can therefore forgive its use of broad strokes in the staging (desaturated flashbacks to signal “the past”) or in the storytelling (the linkage between Kavita’s story and Teresa’s can at times feel a bit heavy-handed)—even more since this feature was made with limited means and entirely independently.

In the end, the Vevey-born director of Indian origin, Kamal Musale, can boast of having paid a fine tribute to the work and person of Mother Teresa—while telling a particularly touching story of his own. One may hope that Hollywood, which appreciates such heroic, authentic figures bearing the label “inspired by a true story,” will take a leaf from it.

— Blaise Petitpierre, Grade: 14/20

Source: Blaise Petitpierre, “Mother Teresa And Me,” Ciné-Feuilles (accessed today). Link: cine-feuilles.ch/film/7302-mother-teresa-and-me.

Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz

The Swiss artist Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz is a film and stage actress and producer with more than 30 years of professional experience in front of and behind the camera.

As part of her professional work, she and her husband made the 100% non-profit film Mother Teresa & Me. This humanitarian feature tells the story of Mother Teresa and the young Indian woman Kavita—of peace and of justice. All the proceeds from the film support the poorest children in the areas of education and healthcare through the Zariya Foundation, beginning in India, where Mother Teresa built her life’s work.

The foundation for this moving film was laid when Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz traveled to Mumbai for the first time. As she drove through the Indian metropolis to visit the Bollywood studios, street children gathered around her taxi. They tapped on the window and offered flowers, magazines, and toys for sale. Shocked by the poverty and misery staring back at her, the actress decided to do something about it.

Her concrete vision for a film was inspired by an image of Mother Teresa in one of the Bollywood studios. The producer there quickly noticed that Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz bore a resemblance to the nun—one reason she can now be seen as Mother Teresa in this many-layered film. Together with Kamal Musale, the talented screenwriter, director, and producer, she decided to make a film that would make a difference. In her work as lead actress, she focused on the complexity of Mother Teresa. She deliberately sought to portray her in all her facets and to express her controversial sides as well. In doing so, she skillfully employs her talent for inhabiting different characters and, in another masterful work, showcases her acting craft.

MOTHER TERESA & ME

The film Mother Teresa & Me showcases two parallel stories interwoven across generations. Despite profound personal doubts, both women fulfill their calling. Mother Teresa’s (Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz) loss of faith inspires the wild-spirited Kavita (Banita Sandhu), a young Briton of Indian origin in present-day Calcutta, to discover true love and compassion.

For Kavita, who lives in London, love is an illusion. Caught between an unfulfilling romantic relationship, her parents’ plans to marry her off according to Indian tradition, and an unexpected pregnancy, she is torn by inner conflict. Should she abort her baby or not?

Unable to take such a radical medical step, Kavita decides to return to her birthplace to find comfort in the arms of Deepali (now her very elderly former nanny). Deepali (Deepti Naval) herself was adopted as a child by Mother Teresa when Teresa began working in the slums in 1948. As Deepali recounts stories from her past, Kavita begins to relive the beginnings of Mother Teresa’s life in the slums of Calcutta.

For young Mother Teresa, life changes dramatically when she hears the voice of Jesus: He commands her to work for the poor in the slums. She does not question this trial. Following the call, she turns her back on her former life and devotes herself to the poor in Calcutta’s slums. After founding her new order, the Missionaries of Charity, Teresa can no longer hear the voice of her beloved Jesus. She feels increasingly abandoned by her beloved, her spouse, her guide… and begins to doubt the very existence of God. She loses her faith.

Teresa hid her torment behind a smiling face of devotion, and for the rest of her life lived in doubt. Nevertheless, she continued her work, with complete dedication to the poorest of the poor—an act of faith in itself. She shared her loss in letters to confessors, which were only published after her death—letters that Kavita learns about in the present day. Mother Teresa’s story influences Kavita’s decision on how to move forward with her pregnancy, her life, her lovers, and her family. She discovers compassion and finds happiness.

Source: https://bmq.swiss/blog/jacqueline-fritschi-cornaz