Mother Teresa biopic in the works

Biopics are clearly the toast in the Indian film industry, and it is the turn of Nobel laureate Mother Teresa to have a film on her life. Written and directed by Seema Upadhyay, the film, announced on Monday, will have a cast of Indian and international actors.

The makers met Sister Prema Mary Pierick, the current Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity, and Sister Lynne in Kolkata recently to seek their blessings for the project on the life of the iconic nun who came from Albania to India in 1929 and set up the Missionaries of Charity in 1948.

Upadhyay said in a statement: "We visited the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata and the experience was surreal."

"She is a global icon and we will ensure to leave no stone unturned to meet her international stature and pay our tribute to the noble soul. We hope we will do justice and will be able to spread the message for peace, love, and humanity that Mother Teresa stood for," the producers said in a joint statement.

The script for the project has been locked. The technicians and teams are in the process of being finalised, after which the casting will begin for the film to go on floors by the end of this year.

It will be produced by Pradeep Sharma, Nitin Manmohan, Girish Johar, and Prachi Manmohan. The makers are looking at releasing the film in 2020.

There have been movies on Mother Teresa in the past -- in 2003, there was a documentary, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, made by Fabrizio Costa of Italy; in 1987, Richard Attenborough turned narrator for a documentary on Mother Teresa; and in 1997, the Mother Teresa: In The Name of God's Poor docu-drama was released.

In recent times, the 2014 movie The Letters explored her life through letters she wrote to her long-time friend and spiritual advisor Father Celeste van Exem over a 50-year period.