Director Gurider Chadha and producer Anushka Shah

It’s been two weeks since Gurinder Chadha released her upcoming feature, Christmas Karma, in the UK, the country where she lives. It’s a week before she releases the film in India, the country she carries with her everywhere. Like her film, Chadha has always found her belonging there and here.

So, as we sit with her, in a Mumbai suburb club, to talk about the film, we can’t help but ask her, “What’s home for you?” “Southhall is my home,” Chadha replies promptly, while browsing through her phone gallery to show us the street she grew up in.

 

“And I always end up going back to those streets. I was there last week and I did a little activity with local school children to open their Christmas festival. I saw one particular area where the first Indian shop in Southall opened, where my parents used to go. Next to it was a playground where I played as a little girl,” the filmmaker shares with a child-like excitement.

Her love for her British roots and Indian origin is reflected throughout her filmography. Christmas Karma is no different, in that context. But something else is different this time, Chadha says. “When I adapted Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice (as Bride & Prejudice), no one asked why Gurinder Chadha should do this. But because the country’s moved a bit to the right, there are people who feel emboldened, and they are asking, ‘Why should Gurinder Chadha do Charles Dickens? How dare she make a film on Christmas? It’s our holiday’.”

In such times, a film like Christmas Karma that puts an Indian immigrant in the UK at the centre of the story is only timely. Chadha says, “There’s a fight going on for who decides what British cinema is and whose voice is considered to be British or not. It’s really important that those questions are being asked at a time when racism is on the increase. I make films for those fighting the good fight, ones who talk about inclusivity. I don’t make films for bigoted racists or colonialists.”

But it’s not to say that the director doesn’t feel isolated at times. “Sitting here, we’re all Indian women, right? I’m not anything unusual to you. In England, I’m a complete anomaly. Where are the Indian women? Where are the actual directors?”

That’s a question that does need to be asked. Throughout her career, Chadha has been a force to reckon with when it comes to telling stories of the Indian diaspora, including successes like Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Bride & Prejudice (2004). But there haven’t been voices after her that have been able to make themselves heard and seen. The first thing to understand, Chadha says, is the struggle that theatres in the UK have been facing since  the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“In England, people are saying, ‘It’s a miracle that you’ve got a film made, because there’s so little getting made right now.’ Post-pandemic, it’s been a tough time for all film industries, everywhere. So, that is also something to be kept in mind,” she says. But that just scratches the surface. The bigger obstacle for any South-Asian filmmaker in the west is still rooted in his/her identity.

“When you try and make a film with a person of colour as the lead, it’s very hard because people don’t see it as necessarily as mainstream and commercial as we think it is. And this is when I have proved the opposite with my films. I have examples. I have numbers to support it. I tell them, ‘I don’t understand. Why are you hesitant? Look at the successes.’ I am shocked by the lack of films from the diaspora. I also didn’t make a sequel to Bend It Like Beckham because I felt that that was a film that I couldn’t really emulate,” she says.

But her single-minded pursuit to tell stories of Indian immigrants stems from a personal emotion, which she is not sure motivates the generations of filmmakers that came after. Even Christmas Karma, the adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, is born out of the endeavour, Chadha says, of showing that the struggles of her ancestors, who had to leave their land behind, weren’t in vain.

“Christmas Karma comes from the same wheelhouse as Bend It Like Beckham. It’s a human empowerment movie. It’s about having the muscle memory of knowing that your parents and your grandparents went through some kind of migratory movement. In my case, it was a partition that my grandparents went through. Then my parents were born in East Africa. I was born in Kenya, but I grew up in England. And you carry all that with you. So, the successes of my generation are really about wanting to show that our parents’ lives were worth it. And their struggles were worth it,” she smiles.

And in her endeavour, she always ends up finding allies. Even though the director initially struggled to find investors for Christmas Karma, she eventually found a partner in producer Anushka Shah, whose Civic Studios has backed the project. And if her films have been unifiers for Indians around the world, in her life, she has forged a sisterhood with Indian women, who walk the same path as hers.

One such bond is what she shares with filmmakers Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta. The trio has a WhatsApp group as well, which goes by the name “Behenji Brigade”.

“Mira gave this name. I congratulated her on Zohran’s (Mamdani, Nair’s son) win. I messaged her, ‘Bohot Mubarak, Mira. What wonderful news to wake up to. It is great that my son has such a role model to look up to. Kya baat hai.’ Then Deepa wrote, ‘Bilkul, Mira. Many, many congratulations. Waah Bhai Waah.’ Mira said, ’It’s the dawn of a new day. We’re bursting with joy,’” Chadha shares.

And if there’s another friendship that the filmmaker is proud of, it’s with Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra, who even sang a Hindi cover of George Michael’s Last Christmas for Chadha’s film.

“She is just amazing. She is always sending me messages, where she would say, ‘Keep breaking new ground.’ She doesn’t have to do that. She sang the song to support me. Priyanka is also a woman who left the safety of Hindi cinema and went abroad, and had to knock on doors to get recognition. She did it the hard way. Maybe some people in India don’t see that struggle but I have seen it. I know what it is like for her because I know what it has been like for me.”

Tuesday night brought a mixed bag of emotions for Indian film artistes as the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced its shortlists in various categories. While Kiran Rao’s feminist dramedy Laapataa Ladies, which was India’s official entry to the 2025 Oscars, wasn’t shortlisted for the Best International Feature Film, UK’s entry Santosh made it to the coveted list. When mid-day reached out to Shahana Goswami, who leads the British-India co-production, her joy knew no bounds. “From 85 films to now 15,” she exclaimed, at the start of our chat.

For the leading actor, what makes this achievement particularly special is that the makers of the police procedural thriller—helmed by Sandhya Suri, and also starring Sunita Rajwar—didn’t have an aggressive Oscar campaign.

“We didn’t have crazy showcasing of the film all over the world during this period. I think people chanced upon it and were curious to watch. Many people messaged me that they watched the film as a part of the Academy screeners,” said Goswami.

Had the team anticipated making the cut? In Goswami’s words, the team members were on different paths between “hoping, dreaming, and not thinking much about it.” But now that their labour of love has reached the first goalpost, the actor is feeling optimistic.

She said, “I have a gut feeling that we will make it to the nomination. I know it’s a long shot because only five are selected from these great 15 films. It will be a tough call, and I am okay for me to be wrong.”

The competition will heat up in the next 30 days, as all the shortlisted movies will be promoted aggressively by way of screenings and press events before the Academy announces its nominations on January 17.

When asked about the way ahead for Santosh, Goswami said the producers are figuring it out. “None of us has a sense of the process immediately after this. I am not sure whether there will be more screenings, or the team will fly to Los Angeles. Right now, I am just celebrating this moment.”

Anushka Shah, CEO and Founder, Civic Studios, which presented Santosh in the UK, said it is gratifying that a film that sheds light on the Indian police system is having its moment in the spotlight. 

“Santosh is a story that delves into the complexities of India’s police system, a relic of its colonial past. Sandhya Suri has struck a perfect balance between addressing these social issues and delivering a gripping cinematic experience. We’re proud to support such a significant story and ensure it reaches global audiences,” she said.

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India had another reason to cheer as Guneet Monga Kapoor’s Anuja found a place in the Live Action Short Film shortlist, and director Smriti Mundhra’s I Am Ready, Warden, was among those contending for the Best Documentary Short Film. Anuja, starring Sajda Pathan and Ananya Shanbag, tells the story of two sisters trapped in the harsh reality of child labour in New Delhi. Monga, who brought home the Oscar in 2023 for The Elephant Whisperers, hopes to recreate the magic with the Adam J Graves-directed short film.

“Being shortlisted for the Oscars is a moment of profound pride and joy. At its heart, Anuja celebrates the unyielding hope and resilience of the human spirit, reminding us of the power of love, connection, and determination. As an executive producer, it has been a privilege to contribute to the campaign. Being acknowledged at this level is both humbling and encouraging, reaffirming our belief in the importance of sharing stories that matter,” she said. 

For Graves, the short film has already found its biggest reward. He elaborated, “The performances by Sajda and Ananya are extraordinary, and knowing that Anuja has moved the audience while spotlighting the critical issue of child labour is the most gratifying reward.”

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Actor Shahana Goswami‘s film Santosh, has inched closer to being nominated for the International Feature Film category in the 2025 Academy Awards. She says, “I feel really happy, proud and encouraged by this selection. It’s a moment of celebration for (director) Sandhya Suri [and] for all of us.”

While it was the official entry from the UK, Goswami feels that India should be proud of this milestone, regardless: “I don’t believe in the segregation of ‘This is mine and that is yours’. There is a huge Indian team involved and... the story is still rooted in India. The country has every reason to be proud as well.”

Now shortlisted, the film will compete with 14 other films to get an Oscar nomination. And the 38-year-old is optimistic about their chances: “I am very happy if it plays out that way and if it doesn’t, then it’s okay. But I do have a gut feeling about the film going through the nominations.”