Kavita and Teresa

IMDB

2020, 120 minutes

A film about love and compassion inspired by the life of Mother Teresa.

For Kavita, a spoiled modern young woman of Indian origin living in Toronto, love is an illusion. Between an unsatisfying romantic relationship, the plans of her parents to wed her according to Indian tradition and an unexpected pregnancy, Kavita is torn by inner conflicts. Should she abort her baby or not? Unable to take the radical medical step, Kavita decides to return to her birthplace, in order to find solace in the arms of Deepali – her now very old nanny – who took care of her as a child. Deepali had herself been adopted as a child by Mother Teresa when she started working in the slums, in 1948. As Deepali narrates the stories of her past, Kavita starts to relive the beginnings of Teresa's life in the slums of Calcutta. For the young Mother Teresa, her life dramatically changes when she hears the voice of Jesus: he orders her to go work for the poor in the slums. She doesn't question this ordeal, as her love for Jesus and her compassion for the disabled and the poor mean everything. Following the call, she turns her back on her previous life and devotes herself to the poor in the slums of Calcutta. But soon after creating her new order, the "Missionaries of Charity", Teresa can't hear the voice of her beloved Jesus anymore. She feels more and more abandoned by her lover, her husband, her guide… She doubts the very existence of God. She loses faith. Hiding her torment behind the smiling face of the faithful, Teresa was in doubts for the rest of her life; but she continued her work nevertheless, with total dedication to the poorest of the poor. An act of faith in itself. She only shared her loss by writing to a couple of confessors, letters that were made public only after her death, letters that Kavita learns about in present time. The real human story of Mother Teresa inspires Kavita positively about how to go on with her pregnancy, her life, her lovers and her family. She discovers compassion. She finds happiness.