BMQ Magazin
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.