How this filmmaker's latest feature deals with existential crisis and loneliness

A moment from the shoot inside the Nirmal Hriday set

There is a reason Batman makes for a compelling superhero. Amidst over-powered alien beings, he is human, flawed and prone to errors. Swiss-Indian filmmaker Kamal Musale agrees that it is the flaws of icons that make them more interesting. "The frailties of great people make them human, which makes them relatable," he explains.

His latest work, a fictional feature titled Mother Teresa & Me that was released in theatres on Friday, captures the crisis of faith suffered by the now-canonised saint during her years in India. Mirrored through the contemporary life of young Kavita (played by Banita Sandhu), the film deals with existential crisis and loneliness - a common theme for many individuals today.

Jacqueline Fritschi-Carnoz as Mother Teresa in the film

The film originates from actor-producer Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz who plays Mother Teresa in the film. Having visited India in 2010, and moved by the poverty around and having been spurred on by a portrait of Mother Teresa, she established the Zariya Foundation. She set out to find a filmmaker to visualise the life of Kolkata's famed figure. Musale, meanwhile, was in search of his own catharsis.

"I had been filming people in dire situations for documentaries in different parts of the globe - people in war, pain and suffering." Watching people suffer, even die, leaves a psychological mark, he tells us. "You don't know where to put them [the emotions]. But you have to stay objective and professional during the shoot," he reveals.

Director Kamal Musale on location

When ideation began in 2012, Musale did not want to make a biography or a documentary - "They only scratch the physical surface, not the psychological one," he says. Research included several meetings and interactions with the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, as well as people who had met with Mother Teresa. But Musale found the key to his story in the letters Mother Teresa sent to her confessors. "These letters have been published since and under the initiative of the confessors during the process of her sainthood." The letters, by now well-known, were accessible to the public, says Musale. One in particular, Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light (DoubleDay) was among them. The letters revealed a side that made her relatable, says Musale. Having arrived in Kolkata (then Calcutta) in 1929, the Nobel Prize-winner founded the Missionaries of Charity that offered the answer to her own spiritual calling. "But as soon as she began work, the voice inside disappeared, she writes," the filmmaker reveals.

The casting process began with Deepti Naval being an automatic choice for Deepali - the nurse once adopted by Mother Teresa, in the film. Her experience and poise made it an easy choice. The younger Kavita was a challenge, the filmmaker admits. "We held several workshops with Banita Sandhu to challenge her to dig deep within herself, to discover her anger and frustration."

Moments from the film depicting different chapters from Mother Teresa's life and times

This frustration is part of what philosophers call the dark night of the soul. Not unlike an existential or mid-life crisis, we remark. "Quite. It was exacerbated by her [Mother Teresa's] inability to share these doubts with anyone," he adds. Psychologists note how driven professionals often struggle with a deep sense of loneliness. In the Netflix documentary, The Last Dance, basketball legend Michael Jordan notes of his isolation, "It's funny, but a lot of people tell me they would like to be Michael Jordan for a day, a week. I don't think they quite understand that it's no fun." Musale points out, "Most people would give up when faced with such doubts - whether it is in their relationship, career or work - or they would find a distraction," he says, "But, she stuck to her vocation."

The pandemic forced the film to start in 2022. A major challenge was to recreate the slums of 1950s' Kolkata since slums today have a different template. The set was rebuilt in Mumbai on the basis of old photographs. The team also sourced 20 villages around the city for the correct casting. Musale admitted they could not shoot at Nirmal Hriday - the Missionaries of Charity hospice in Kolkata - since it was a functioning hospice. He did insist on exterior shots in the city of Kolkata though.

Deepti Naval as Deepali and Banita Sandhu as Kavita

So what can the modern professional take away from the story? "I think inspiration and compassion. To do little things to make the world a better place. Sometimes, people just need to smile and say nice things. You don't need to set out on a mission to clean all the beaches in Mumbai tomorrow," Musale laughs.

At Cinemas across Mumbai