Mumbai: In an exclusive Interview with Filmmaker Gurinder Chadha, where she has spoken about her latest movie 'Christmas Karma'. She has further spoken about how the film brings Indian values and stories to a Western audience, facing challenges and stereotypes in the process. After that, she shared her experience working with Priyanka Chopra and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. She expressed gratitude for Indian support and mentorship opportunities for young women in the industry. In the end, she opened up about her favourite Bollywood movie and also stated that she is a total Punjabi at heart.
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#GurinderChadha #ChristmasKarma #exclusiveInterview #Filmmaker #challenges #experienceworking #latestmovie #Westernaudience #PriyankaChopra #AishwaryaRaiBachchan #favouriteBollywoodmovie #Trending #BollywoodNews #BollywoodGossips #BollywoodUpdates #BollywoodNews #Bollywood #Bollywoodcelebrity #BollywoodHindiNews #ians
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FunTranscript
00:00It's a pleasure to have you here with us at IMS.
00:03Thank you so much. It's so wonderful to be here and receive so much love and appreciation from everybody.
00:10It's just, you can't imagine how wonderful that feels for me.
00:13Right, right. So firstly, tell us, how is the entire response to Christmas karma internationally looking at liberty?
00:20So, I always do what I want to do, you know, and I really wanted to make a Christmas film
00:26because Christmas is such a big part of our life in England and I love Frank Capra's film, It's a Wonderful Life.
00:35Every year Christmas starts for me when I watch that film and it's a beautiful film about the human spirit.
00:41And I felt a few years back after watching it that I wanted to make my own holiday film
00:46that made me feel like that film and make a film about the human story and the human essence
00:54and what it means to live a happy life as a human.
01:00And I wrote the script during the pandemic.
01:03So it was an interesting time for the whole world and we were connected in some way.
01:09And so that sort of influenced me.
01:11But also, growing up, there was somebody we knew who had come from Uganda as a refugee
01:22when Idi Amin, in 1972, expelled all the Indians who had been taken there by the British to help build Uganda.
01:30And they were expelled and some came to Britain as refugees.
01:35And we knew someone who'd have this story.
01:38And his father died in the refugee camp from a heartbreak, heartbroken.
01:43And he would come to our house at Christmas and he would be like, what are you doing?
01:50You know, why are you trying to be white?
01:52And we go, no, no, no, this is Christmas.
01:54This is what we do from a child.
01:56We used to write letters to Santa.
01:58We have the Christmas tree up.
02:00We have the lunch.
02:01We watch the Queen's speech.
02:03You know, this is what we do.
02:05But he couldn't get his head around it and he was always a bit grinchy.
02:09So I took that idea because Scrooge in Charles Dickens is suffering from childhood trauma
02:15and has turned him inwards and he just worships money.
02:20And that's all he has in life.
02:22So I took this character because a lot of Indians who were expelled from Uganda and came to Britain,
02:28a lot of them did the same thing.
02:31They looked to money, you know, to give them security.
02:34And many did very well.
02:37But there were also others that didn't do so well and whose life stopped at that point.
02:42You know, so my character, Mr. Sood, you know, is an amalgamation of true stories
02:49that I had grown up with.
02:52But for me, it's also a story about transformation, you know.
02:57And the real treat is how this character goes from all that pain and trauma
03:02to understanding what real life is, what it means to be human, you know.
03:10And what does he learn?
03:11It's amazing because from Charles Dickens' words came the story.
03:17But actually, it's the philosophy of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
03:21Because he says, we're all connected.
03:24We're all one.
03:25Charles Dickens was saying the same thing.
03:27But then how does Scrooge and Sood find redemption?
03:31They find it from giving.
03:33When they give to those who are less fortunate, that's when they start feeling human.
03:38And so that's what we do, seva.
03:42It is through seva that is our purpose in life, you know, particularly as a Sikh.
03:47You know, that's our purpose.
03:49So for me, although it's a Christmas film, it brings all these values,
03:54very traditional Indian values together in this film.
03:59Right, absolutely.
04:00So, you know, heading from an Indian origin, right,
04:03when you make movies down there, I mean, up there in the West and then in India,
04:07what is that stark difference that you kind of, you know, put into your direction?
04:13So, because as you said, in this movie, you have got on board the Indian values, right?
04:18So what is the difference that usually, as a director, do you consciously make?
04:23Well, I think in India, you know,
04:26my kind of spirit is very Indian and Punjabi, definitely.
04:34And, you know, the music, you know, all this is all part of my ancestral heritage, right?
04:41And culturally, you know, we have beautiful stories of, you know, mythology
04:47and also, you know, what the Vedas teach us, what Gurbani teach us.
04:53You know, these are beautiful messages.
04:55The West is trying to get their heads around.
04:57But, you know, India has been, there's been so many people that have tried to conquer India,
05:03but that spirit remains.
05:04So I carry that in the West, but in the West, I'm also conscious of the fact that someone like me
05:13is not, doesn't look like what filmmakers look like in the West.
05:17And someone like me or my parents, you know, had to struggle to be seen as who they are.
05:25So just me making a film in Britain is a political act, you know,
05:30because I'm telling stories from my perspective and they're not really valued in the West in the same way
05:39because an Indian perspective is not necessarily accepted or commercial, right?
05:45Even though I proved everyone wrong with previous films,
05:49there is still this perception that if you put an Indian in the lead of a Western movie,
05:56it's not commercial.
05:56So I have that context, I have the Indian context, you know,
06:02so I'm constantly being put in boxes by people and I'm always breaking out of those boxes
06:09and bending the rules, just like Jess Bumrah 23 years ago.
06:14Absolutely.
06:15So do you feel that despite the fact that you have given the industry,
06:20entertainment industry per se, such blockbuster movies and cult classic movies,
06:25do you feel that despite such an achievement,
06:29there's still that kind of stereotype or taboo that, you know,
06:32there's an Indian making movie of, as you mentioned,
06:36there's an Indian in the commercial lead, in the lead probably,
06:39they have this particular mindset of the notion that it won't be looked upon or looked at in a very...
06:46It's irritating as hell.
06:48I mean, it's infuriating.
06:51And in some ways, I think it's got worse, you know, from when I started.
06:57But I'm very lucky with Christmas Karma because the film has only got made because I had Indian backing.
07:03And so Civic Studios, which is started by Anushka Shah, the founder,
07:09she came in to support me.
07:12And also Sunil Sheth, who is my family lawyer who's retired now,
07:17who does a lot of charity work.
07:18I had done a charity reading for him and I was upset.
07:24You know, it was Christmas two years ago and all the Christmas lights were on.
07:27And I was like, I'm so sad I haven't been able to put the finance together for my film.
07:32I'm still missing the last 20%, the last two million.
07:37And at his charity thing, I was talking to him about it and he called me the next day
07:43and he said, you know, a few of us, we've had dinner after the event
07:47and we've loved your films and we're so sad that you have to struggle.
07:52So we've all put our hands in our pockets
07:54and we're all going to come together as a consortium
07:58and help you make your film.
08:00And that's exactly what happened.
08:02Ordinary Indian people, rich Indian people,
08:05came and supported me.
08:09And that's why I was able to make Christmas Karma.
08:12So in itself, that's very telling of, you know,
08:17how much love and appreciation I have amongst our own,
08:23but also how I struggle with, you know,
08:26people who don't necessarily appreciate that point of view.
08:29Absolutely.
08:31I heard that your family members are starring in this movie.
08:36So please, if you would like to share some light on the film.
08:38So my darling daughter is in this film.
08:42She is, she has a small role, but she used to come on set all the time.
08:48And so she's found herself in about 20 different scenes.
08:51She keeps getting in them, but she plays one of the kids who sing in a choir
08:55outside Scrooge's house.
08:57And when he arrives home, the kids are rehearsing and she's there singing.
09:03And he comes over and he's furious.
09:05And he says, these kids should be arrested for making the racket they're making.
09:09Tell them to shut up.
09:10So she's like, oh my God.
09:12And then later when he's changed, she has dialogue with him
09:17and then sings the song beautifully and has a solo line in the song.
09:22So it's super proud.
09:24I'm super proud of her.
09:25So this is a debut?
09:26It is a debut.
09:27Yes, yes, yes.
09:30She enjoyed it.
09:31She loves the film.
09:33So you know, continuing to the same question and answer,
09:36that in India usually it is that if you are a director's son or a director's daughter,
09:40you know, so you eventually have it very easy when you have to venture
09:43into the industry, the cinema industry.
09:47Yeah.
09:47So why did you not make her one of what,
09:52probably one of the leads?
09:54What was your, you know, thought?
09:55She doesn't want to be an actor.
09:58She tried it.
10:00She's like, no, no, I don't want to do all this.
10:01It's just too much hard work.
10:04No, she, I did it because of the fun of it.
10:06And she was there on set with me.
10:08I said, why don't you do this?
10:09You're good at singing.
10:10And so she did it with her friends.
10:12So all her friends are there.
10:15And neither of my kids want to do acting or entertainment or anything like that.
10:21Does that make you feel bad?
10:23No, it makes me feel amazing because I don't want them to struggle like I have.
10:30But also, you know, they're both in their own paths.
10:33My son is studying fashion at Parsons in New York.
10:37My daughter's one commitment is to have a career that helps people.
10:43That's what she wants to do is help people who can't always help themselves.
10:47So that's what, you know, she's very good at sign language.
10:50She loves, she has this great empathy.
10:54And so they're both on very different paths to me.
10:57So, yeah, I'm proud of that.
11:00And, you know, one of the things I love about India, I've met so many young people, particularly women,
11:04who are trying to, you know, make a mark in the industry and, you know, and are looking for mentorship and help.
11:12And I met a young woman yesterday who really impressed me.
11:15So I'm going to take her and help her and mentor her.
11:19So there's plenty of other people who need my help and support, I think.
11:23Not my kids.
11:24Leave them.
11:26Absolutely.
11:27So a very last minute, just before I was shooting, I had lunch with the George Michael estate.
11:46And I told them I was doing this.
11:48They said, why didn't you take Last Christmas and do something different?
11:52Why didn't you do a Bollywood version?
11:54So I was like, huh, what?
11:57And then I thought about it.
11:59And I said, we could do a Hindi version, a mix, Hindi-English.
12:02And they said, please, because George Michael will love it.
12:06And I said, well, I could call my friend Priyanka.
12:09You know, maybe she'll come in.
12:10And they said, we love her.
12:12Please do it.
12:13And so I called PC, who I've known for a long time.
12:17PC is a great supporter of everybody in the diaspora.
12:22You know, all of us doing stuff.
12:23She is there to support us always, you know.
12:27And except to me, she said, no, I can't do this.
12:31I'm not a singer.
12:32Are you mad?
12:33And I said, it'll be so much fun.
12:36It's the end titles.
12:37You know how I do all this, the mashah, at the end.
12:40It'll be fun.
12:41My dog will be there.
12:42And, you know, we'll have some fun.
12:45And in the end, she said, okay, it sounds like fun.
12:48And she was in London.
12:49And so she came to the studio.
12:52She said, you're mad.
12:53But let's do it.
12:55So she corrected some of the Hindi.
12:56And then she sang so beautifully.
13:01And then I called Anushka Shankar, who is also a friend.
13:05And I said, come and play with us.
13:07Come on.
13:08So Anushka came.
13:09Again, she said, you're mad, but I'll support you.
13:13And Anushka does a beautiful sitar version of Last Christmas.
13:18Oh, my God, stunning, along with Nitin Sorni.
13:22So between us all, NRI, diaspora women, we ended up with a beautiful Christmas song that all the Goras are loving, you know, which is beautiful.
13:35And to me, it's a nice little nod to George Michael and his spirit.
13:40You know, George was a big fan of Bend It Like Beckham for tea and everything.
13:43So I think that I'm hoping he likes it.
13:47But what a good sport PC was, you know, to come and support me like that.
13:52Absolutely.
13:52You know, you worked with these women like Aishwarya and Priyanka who have taken India on the global map in terms of class, in terms of elegance.
14:02And basically breaking the notion that Western, you know, Western countries have for India, that it's a typical country or whatsoever.
14:12They, you know, portrayed in such a beautiful way.
14:15So how was the experience working with these ladies individually?
14:19Also, I mean, with Aishwarya, it was back in the day, 21 years ago.
14:24Yes, yes.
14:25So, firstly, that is one.
14:27And secondly, do you think that the art of storytelling has changed as a director with social media also playing a vital part in the day?
14:36Yeah, yeah.
14:36It's just a mess.
14:39Well, after the success of Bend It Like Beckham, when I was in India, everyone kept saying, please make a Bollywood film.
14:45Please make a Hindi film.
14:47And I said, I can't make the films that you make, but I can make my version.
14:51And that's why I made Bride and Prejudice.
14:53And I had met Aishwarya and got in touch with her and she said, let's do it.
15:00And so it was the first kind of crossover kind of movie, really.
15:04And you'll be amazed how many people love that film around the world.
15:10And even Chelsea Clinton, in some interview she did about her time in the White House.
15:18And she said her favorite memory is her and her mother, Hillary Clinton, dancing around the White House, singing No Life Without Wife.
15:27Because it was one of their favorite movies to watch together.
15:30So the reach of that film is a testament, I think, to Hindi cinema, you know, and how much people love the cinema, but don't always know how to access it, you know.
15:42And so what I did was make a Hindi film that made it accessible for the West.
15:48That was my plan.
15:49And I can do that because culturally I sit in both places, you know.
15:54And I think that working with Aishwarya and Namrata and all the actresses was just amazing.
16:04Meghna doing the snake dance, you know, Nadira Babur, yeah.
16:09And also in Bendit with Anupam Kher, you know, like it's wonderful to be able to work with actors who are Indian,
16:17but also doing something in sort of my space, like that's very rewarding for me, you know.
16:26And even Kunal, Kunal is really a Delhi boy, grew up in, you know, was born in England, grew up in Delhi and lives in L.A.
16:34Married to a, you know, famous Indian woman.
16:38So, you know, it's...
16:40Everything that goes to you.
16:41Yes, exactly.
16:42So, telling our stories is important because our perspective is unique and different.
16:50Right, right.
16:50And I think I asked that with social media influence, what difference do you think, because you've been in the streets in so many decades now, right?
16:58Yes.
16:58I think the thing for me is, you know, it is hard to watch how filmmakers, particularly independent filmmakers, are struggling.
17:09Because audiences have shifted from going to the cinema to watching movies at home, you know, on their TVs, whether it's on an OTT platform or YouTube or whatever, you know.
17:24And so it's getting harder and harder to make movies to be seen in the cinema.
17:30But also, we're also having now micro-dramas, you know, people with short attention spans watching micro-dramas.
17:40But I think these things are all circular, you know.
17:43It's interesting, after Durmji is passing, there's a big release of Sholet coming, you know.
17:49And people are loving the stories of the past, you know, as well.
17:55So, I think it's circular.
17:57I don't think cinema is dead.
17:59I don't think cinema going is dead.
18:00I think that there'll be, you know, people will come back at some point.
18:06We just have to ride the rough times and be there for when things change.
18:11Right.
18:12And which is your favorite volume movie?
18:14Oh, my goodness me.
18:16That's a tough one.
18:21There are so many films.
18:23But really, the film, the film that I grew up with, because it was my dad's favorite film.
18:31And when I met my husband, I made him watch it.
18:36I said, you have to watch this before you meet my dad, because this film will tell you everything.
18:41And the film was Biju Bhavra.
18:42Oh.
18:43And I grew up with my father after he'd had a few drinks, you know, whiskey with his friends.
18:53And he would sit there and he'd be like, oh, dunia khe rakavale, like this.
18:59So, this is my childhood growing up with my dad.
19:02And my chacha in Australia does the same thing.
19:05They drink and then they all sing Mohamed Rafi, you know, Noshad's song.
19:10And when I showed it to my American husband, he watched the whole film.
19:15He tried to keep awake, you know, it was so long.
19:17And then at the end, he said, what?
19:21They die?
19:22They die at the end after all that?
19:25They die?
19:26He was like, oh, my God.
19:27I said, see, this is what you have to learn.
19:30People love the fact that they die because they're united in their death and they'll come back together as something or the other.
19:37He was like, oh, my God, this is crazy, man.
19:39But, you know, it was important because he understood my parents, you know.
19:43And so, for me, that film holds a very special part in my life.
19:49And it's so nice on TikTok because I see Mohamed Rafi.
19:54I see him singing this song, you know, and it just takes me back to my childhood.
19:59And that love of pure, you know, pure Hindi cinema and that love of music.
20:05And I have such a love of music.
20:07And I remember as a child watching the scene where Beju is singing and the soap dissolves, right?
20:15Visual effect.
20:16He's singing the soap.
20:19And I'm like, huh?
20:20How is the soap dissolving?
20:22I don't understand.
20:23But now I understand, you know.
20:25And the power of music is something.
20:28So it was there for my dad during all this time.
20:31All my films are full of music, all different kinds of music.
20:34And I think, if anything, that is the legacy for me of Hindi cinema is the music.
20:42Absolutely.
20:42And lastly, like, if you'd like to end this interview with you singing the song.
20:46Leh.
20:47How much you would like to do that?
20:49I'm not a singer.
20:51Which song?
20:53In Hindi, I mean, The Last Christmas, if you could.
20:55Oh, my God.
20:56So I wrote the lyrics with somebody.
20:59I didn't know what I was doing because, you know,
21:01And it was, how do you translate a George Michael song?
21:15It's such a classic, right?
21:17Everyone knows the words.
21:18So it, so we went with Last Christmas,
21:23De di a dil, tu ne tuk a diya,
21:27Mera jee na mushkil.
21:28Very literal translation.
21:31Ye saal, dart se dur,
21:35Hai pyaar for someone special.
21:38And at that point, she lifts my dog.
21:40Priyanka lifts my dog.
21:41That's my dog in the video.
21:43Even he's making a debut.
21:44Even my dog, Babalu, Babalu Popa is his name.
21:48He's in the film.
21:50But the song, it came out too cute, huh?
21:53Yeah, I've seen the song.
21:54And even the Pangraa Christmas song with Malkit Singh and Jesse Sidhu.
21:58Like, that's the one that in England, everyone's just going,
22:01Oh, my God, we can't believe it.
22:03In fact, in cinemas in England,
22:05I was told by my friend that when Malkit Singh enters the frame,
22:12the whole cinema started clapping.
22:15Because, you know, he's one of our big Bhangra stars, right,
22:18from Birmingham, England.
22:20So in Indian areas, when people are in the theater,
22:23when he appears, everyone claps.
22:25So that's very cool.
22:26It reminds me of the first time when I came here many years ago,
22:30and I went to the Chandan Theater, in Chandan Theater,
22:35and I went to see Raja Hindustani.
22:38And I was sitting upstairs, and the film comes on,
22:43and then when the famous song comes on,
22:46suddenly all the lights around the screen came on,
22:54disco lights started, people got up, started dancing.
22:57And I was like, Oh, my God, this is something else.
23:01So now it's fun to see that happening in theaters
23:04with my film when the Christmas Bhangra song comes on.
23:08Maybe that will happen in theaters here.
23:10Who knows?
23:11In India, you can definitely expect, for sure.
23:13We'll definitely have some of this.
23:16No, it was lovely talking to you.
23:18Nice talking to you.
23:18So much was very, so much of time for us.
23:20You're welcome.
23:21And don't forget, please go and see the film,
23:24December 12th, in cinemas.
23:27And do the dance.
23:28And you won't be able to stop moving your shoulders,
23:31that is for sure.
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