One of the epoch-making personalities of this universe, Mother Teresa, a Nobel laureate, is the subject of a forthcoming web series in three seasons of 30 episodes each, with each episode budgeted at not less than Rs. 1 crore.
The life sketch of Mother Teresa will reach audiences worldwide in different languages. John Paul’s research work and book serve as the base for this project, helmed by top-notch Malayalam director P. Chandrakumar. The collection of data on the noble laureate took four years, and prominent producer Chandrasekhar is making this a pan-India web series.
At the age of 19, director Chandrakumar, known for directing over 150 films, has already made history with his collaboration with legendary actor Madhu. As a go-getter and an accomplished director, Chandrakumar is ensuring all facts are included in his three-season web series of 30 episodes, each with a duration of 45 minutes.
Chandrakumar, who directed 14 to 19 films a year at his peak in the Malayalam film industry, is looking for a foreign face to portray Mother Teresa. He believes the skin tone of a foreign actress will closely match the character. “I am not looking for any known face for this particular role,” he says.
Addressing the media at Sri Renukamba Digital Theater with a few of his teammates, Chandrakumar explained the ‘Hunger Episode,’ the first turning point in the career of Mother Teresa. He emphasized that both the positive and negative aspects of the legendary personality will be focused on in the series.
The series will cover Mother Teresa’s childhood and teenage life, her old age, and her social service, as narrated by director Chandrasekhar through this pan-India web series. The series will portray every place Mother Teresa visited, including Rome, Bethlehem, Macedonia, the UK, West Bengal, Bangladesh, Mumbai, Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, and Italy, all of which influenced her life.
Auditions have been conducted for various roles, and workshops are being held. “She spent most of her time as a teacher in Darjeeling. We have brought all that into this story. It will be a realistic presentation,” adds Chandrakumar.
Producer Chandrasekhar said, “We have already produced movies in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi, and we are now doing one in Kannada for the first time. We are looking for someone to play the young Teresa. The first season of 10 episodes will be aired in June on an OTT platform, and talks are ongoing. This story will be told from the point of view of a journalist.”
The cinematography is by P. Sukumar and Satish, with music by Jaree Amaradeva. The series stars Anita Menon, Tanima Menon, Sapi Kaur, and others.
Under the Chennai Moon Movies banner, the co-producers are Anitha Ananthan and PRG Menon. K. Rajagopal is the editor, Dharandheer Ram is writing the dialogues, and Jyothi Joseph and Silvastar are handling the art direction.
