Who Is Gurinder Chadha? Indian-Origin Filmmaker Whose ‘Christmas Karma’ King Charles Will Watch

New Delhi: King Charles is set to watch Indian-origin filmmaker Gurinder Chadha’s film Christmas Karma as part of his Christmas celebrations at Sandringham. Chadha also recently met the British monarch, who told the director that he was looking forward to watching the drama.

Chadha shared a video from her meeting with King Charles on her official Instagram handle.

Expressing her excitement, she wrote, “Whoo hoo. HRH The King will be watching @christmaskarmamovie this Christmas in Sandringham. I am delighted a print of my film was requested. We had the pleasure of meeting @kingcharlesuk, who told me he was looking forward to it (sic).”

The filmmaker revealed that the King even jokingly asked whether she was a good director.

“It is a vision of Britain that he thoroughly endorses through our charity work with @thebritishasiantrust, of which he is patron. He met Freddie Marshall, our Tiny Tim, who has NF1, and spoke to HRH about his charity work to bring attention to the condition. He asked @leo.suter, our compassionate Bob Cratchit, if I was a good director. He likes to pull my leg when we meet,” Chadha wrote.

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She also spoke about the audience response to the film, adding that reports of dancing in theatres and applause at the end of screenings have been heartening. “My film is about finding hope and happiness for my kids and their friends who are so troubled by the world around them. At this time, charity and empathy mark the festive season for me,” she added.

Who Is Gurinder Chadha?

Gurinder Kaur Chadha is a Kenyan-born British filmmaker of Indian origin, best known for telling stories about the South Asian diaspora in the UK. She rose to global prominence with Bend It Like Beckham (2002), which explored cultural identity, gender roles, and ambition among British Indian youth.

Much of Chadha’s work draws from her own experiences of growing up between cultures. Her filmography includes Bhaji on the Beach (1993), Bride and Prejudice (2004), Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008), It’s a Wonderful Afterlife (2010), Viceroy’s House (2017), and Blinded by the Light (2019). She has also worked extensively in television, notably with the period drama series Beecham House (2019). Several of her projects are adaptations of novels for the screen.

Chadha was born in Nairobi, Kenya, then under British colonial rule, into a Punjabi Sikh Khatri family. Her parents later migrated to the UK amid political instability in the region. The family held “United Kingdom and Colonies” citizenship under the British ity Act of 1948, which allowed them to settle in Britain.

Her father moved to England first, and the rest of the family joined him a year later, settling in Southall, West London, when Chadha was just two years old. Despite being professionally qualified, her father faced racial and religious discrimination due to his Sikh identity, including his turban and beard, and was unable to find work comparable to his position in Kenya. The family eventually ran a shop to make ends meet.

These early experiences of migration, racism, and cultural negotiation later became central themes in Chadha’s films, which often explore what it means to be both Indian and British.

Academically, Chadha studied politics and development economics at the University of East Anglia before moving into media. She later pursued postgraduate studies at the London College of Printing in the mid-1980s. Early in her career, she worked in radio journalism and went on to become a BBC television news reporter. She also directed several documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4, and the British Film Institute. One of her most notable early works, I’m British But… (1989), documented the lives of young British Asians and helped establish her voice as a filmmaker.

Chadha is married to American screenwriter and director Paul Mayeda Berges. The couple have twins, a son Ronak and a daughter Kumiko, born in 2007.