Life in a Metro

But McCarthy argues that her film is not entirely about baby adoptions,it is “a portrait of marriage and a depiction of what happens when something you want most is out of your reach.” The 108 minute drama which took four years to complete,tells the story of an Australian couple played by Hollywood actors Radha Mitchell (a corporate lawyer) and Joel Edgerton (a failed singer/ guitarist) who arrive in Kolkata to see the little girl whom they have waited for two years to adopt. Due to delays in the adoption process the wait becomes a test of patience for the couple as they reconcile their differences and finally adopt the baby. The presence of Indian actors Samrat Chakrabarti (taxi driver and tour guide) who has acted in few Hollywood productions and Tillotama Shome,bring into context the cultural divide. “It’s not my intention to be for or against adoption,it is more to raise questions about what it means to take a child away from their culture. The film is meant to raise questions and hopefully,move people,“ explains McCarthy,who has been making dramas,documentaries,ad films and music videos for a decade after graduating from a Design and Communications programme at the University of Technology,Sydney.

McCarthy’s experience with Kolkata proved helpful,since she worked with the Missionaries of Charity for two months in 2002 and shot a semi-autobiographical documentary Sisters,about working with the charity. Besides incorporating local culture into the filming like weddings,Durga Puja and Baul singers,she even shot a music video in Varanasi. After screening the film at the Toronto International Film Festival,Pusan,Bombay and Kolkata festivals,the film will release by late 2010.