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"To place on film what we write on paper is tough. Supposing I want to shoot with the sun setting, on paper it all sounds good, but to shoot it is difficult. I’ve always learnt things by trial and error... I’m an experienced radio jockey. According to me, making a film is like making a radio show with pictures.”  

Twenty-four-year-old Fali Singara was talking about his 21-minute documentary film, The Roses of Mother Teresa. First shown at the World Social Forum in Bombay in January 2004, Singara’s film focused on Sister Christobel who spent over 25 years with Nobel prize winner Mother Teresa of Calcutta. "Mother Teresa’s work for and among the poor has become the yardstick by which the entire world measures compassion, generosity and selfless­ness,” notes the film- maker. "Besides, it’s a tribute to my late maternal grandmother Maki Sethna who worked for the Mother Teresa community. I felt I had to do something that she would have appreciated so that her efforts in educating me, especially in being compassionate to the less fortunate, would not go in vain.” 

Christobel is a legend in her own right. The Roses of Mother Teresa is about the work that she and a group of volunteers known as "Mother Teresa’s Roses” do, as they impart dignity to the lives of the destitute of Bombay’s streets. While the Missiona­ries of Charity treats destitutes who are brought to its portals, Christobel scourges the streets for them. "She and her group... do God’s work for they physically clean, bathe and feed human beings no one else would even touch — people with diseases, the handicapped, the beggars,” says Singara. The film follows the Roses as they voluntarily go about doing their chores and share their experiences. Much of the documentary consists of people talking about their mission.

Making this film with minimum financial support was diffi­cult. Singara first approached a non-governmental organi­sation (NGO), Pukaar: "My college professor, Rahul Srivastava, runs the Mum­bai office of this NGO. Initially, he gave me his movie camera to shoot. But, ultimately, I had to get my own resources. Pukaar gave good advice, and it’s thanks to this NGO, which straight away opened the doors for me to the World Social Forum.” 

Shooting the film was only 50 percent of the task. The chal­lenge was editing. It took the filmmaker three weeks to edit the document­ary, along with a professional studio Video Effects, which charged him a minimal rate. Singara is also grateful to freelance filmmaker Farooq Merchant, "who went through my script before I approached the NGO and guided me at the editing studio as well.”

Singara was lucky to have a professional team coupled with the right equipment, despite limited resources. Pradeep Ambegaonkar, the main cameraman for Channel V, was of immense help. Learning about the film, he was so deeply touched, that he charged Singara "only for the camera rent for the film and for paying his crew. Without any qualms, Pradeep readily shot not just at the St Andrews Church, but on the roads as well, and followed Mother Teresa’s Roses throughout; all out of his own pocket” and on his time.

Whatever amount Singara had saved working as radio jockey (he is a disc jockey with All India Radio - 107.1 FM  since 1996) and as a journalist (chief feature writer for the music magazine, The Record), was fully utilised. Although his parents gave him "little financial help,” they were a great moral support throughout this venture. Singara has not realized a single penny, but "at least I’ve got the satisfaction that Mother Teresa’s Roses have received donations from people who’ve seen the film.”

The short film was sent to one of Singara’s friends in New York (who works with a television channel) with the intention to distribute it to as many places as possible and receive feedback in turn. Thanks to him and his contacts, and of course Singara’s persistence, the film was pushed across to the United Nations in the summer of 2004, and was shown there to some of the delegates.

For Singara the highlight of the film was its showing at the Vatican. "It was a privilege to be invited by the Pope to his morning sermon,” gushes the filmmaker. "The Sisters (Mo­ther Teresa’s Roses), too sent the film to a number of parishes and churches across the globe. It is through their contacts that I got to meet Sister Agair in Italy. During the morning sermon at the Vatican, amongst the thousands of devotees, she gave me a seat exactly behind the Pope on the podium in the fifth row!” He is not sure whether the Pope has seen the film which he had given to Cardi­nal Lourdusamy    who works closely with  the Pope.

Son of advertising executive Ratan and airline executive Niloufer, Singa­ra’s source of inspiration since the age of three has been the music icon, Elvis Presley. He is currently the president and founder of the Official Elvis Presley Fan Club India. "Elvis has always been different from others. His music transcends all barriers of age, caste, class or religion. Elvis can be a friend, a father, a lover or anything you want him to be — that was his talent. One can feel it in his voice — the emo­tion, the pain, the heartbreak, the happiness and the fact that only one person in the world matters to him — you. If you listen to any Elvis song carefully, you will feel like he’s singing to you and you alone”.

An alumnus of the Cathedral and John Connon School he pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature at Wilson College. His college years saw him win many intercollegiate events apart from being the editor of The Wilsonian. Currently studying towards his Master of Arts in English at Bombay University he has enrolled for a four-month film producing and directing course at the University of Southern California. Younger sibling Nira is training to become a teacher at Sophia College.

In the course of his eight years on radio and writing for publications such as the Afternoon, Asian Age, Sunday Ob­server, AV Max, etc, Singara has interviewed many musicians and celebrities over the phone and in person. These include The Bees Gees, Celine Dion, Elton John, Aerosmith, Mariah Carey, Shania Twain, Sting, Shakira, Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Ronan Keating, Def Leppard, The Rolling Stones, etc. His other activities include reading, studying music, collecting Elvis, Beatles and James Bond memorabilia, copies of Asterix, Batman and other comics and internet/video game programming. He has also modelled for adver­tisements.

He would prefer to marry a Parsi girl and yet has an open mind to interfaith marriages. According to him, Parsi girls do have an "attitude problem!” He used to run a Zoroastrian website called the Fire Worshippers as "I felt that it was important to let young Zoroastrians kids know about our culture. The link with my name is still up on www.avesta.org.”

Singara has written and directed two more documentary films. A Conversation with Anthony and Poverty in the Land of Plenty. While the former deals with disability, the latter deals with homeless senior citizens. Singara plans to become an actor and a filmmaker. And, all this without the prerequisite qualifications? The filmmaker retorts: "People with qualifications make commer­cial cinema. They don’t think beyond that.”

Singara urges readers to "get in touch with Mother Teresa’s Roses, send in their old clothes, soaps, food grains, anything that will help the less fortunate.” Sister Christobel can be contacted on e-mail: srchristabelle@hotmail. com and tel: 26040088.