Gurinder Chadha: It’s still perceived in the West that if you cast an Indian actor as the lead, it won’t be commercially successful
Mumbai: Gurinder Chadha, an internationally celebrated director known for championing Indian stories in Western cinema, recently opened up to LatestNewsX about the ongoing obstacles she faces as a British‑Indian filmmaker in the West.
In a candid exchange with the agency, Chadha explained how identity politics still shadow her work long after decades of acclaim. “I am always conscious of the fact that someone like me doesn’t look like what filmmakers typically look like in the West.” She added, “Someone like me, or like my parents, has had to struggle to be seen for who we truly are. So, just the fact that I am making films in Britain is a political act, because I am telling stories from my own perspective.”
Despite proving her mettle with hits such as Bend It Like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice, she notes that Indian perspectives are still viewed as risky in Western markets. “There is still this perception that if you cast an Indian actor in the lead in a Western movie, it won’t be commercially successful. I am constantly being put into boxes by others, and I am constantly breaking out of those boxes and bending the rules,” she remarked.
Now she is gearing up for the release of her latest festive feature, The Christmas Karma, which stars Hollywood’s popular Indian‑origin actor Kunal Nayyar. The film also boasts a Bollywood‑style rendition of the classic holiday tune ‘Last Christmas’, performed by global superstar Priyanka Chopra Jonas.
Chadha’s filmography includes cross‑cultural blockbusters like Bend It Like Beckham (with Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley), Bride and Prejudice (starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Martin Henderson), and Viceroy’s House (with Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson and Huma Qureshi).
With The Christmas Karma hitting cinemas on December 12th, Gurinder Chadha is poised once again to broaden the horizons of global filmmaking. –LatestNewsX
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