From visionary British director Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham, Blinded By The Light)comes CHRISTMAS KARMA, a fresh, festive, Bollywood-inspired reimagining of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol. In this joyous Christmas musical, modern-day Scrooge Mr. Sood (Kunal Nayyar – The Big Bang Theory) embarks on an unforgettable journey with the three Ghosts of Christmas – Eva Longoria, Billy Porter, and Boy George – who guide him to confront his demons and discover that kindness is the true meaning of the season.
Set against the vibrant backdrop of modern-day London, CHRISTMAS KARMA features an eclectic soundtrack from Gary Barlow, Nitin Sawhney, and Shaznay Lewis, blending gospel, bhangra, rap, pop, and classic Christmas carols. With an all-star cast including Hugh Bonneville, Leo Suter, Charithra Chandran, Eva Longoria, Danny Dyer, and more, this is a festive celebration of heart, music, and holiday spirit.
As Christmas Karma prepares to release in Australian cinemas on November 27, Nick L’Barrow spoke with filmmaker Gurinder Chadha about blending the classic Dickens tale with a contemporary story, and how A Christmas Carol first came into her life.
Nick: The story of A Christmas Carol is timeless in its own right, and there have been many interpretations of it. I’m curious to know when the story first came into your life?
Gurinder Chadha: Well, my favourite Christmas film is It’s A Wonderful Life, Frank Capra’s movie. When Christmas starts, I watch that film. And of course, that film was inspired by Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. A few years back, just before COVID lockdown, I watched it again, and was so moved by it that I just wanted to make a holiday movie that speaks to me like that film does, you know? One that makes me feel all sorts of warm and Christmas-y. But one that can also be darker, and look at what’s going on in the world, and how we as humans interact with each other. A Christmas Carol is a story of redemption for someone who has lost their way.
I went to Charles Dickens’ house, and I just walked around all of the rooms. And obviously I studied Charles Dickens at school, but when I was at the house, I kind of “asked” him, “If you were me today, what would you do with this story?” In that afternoon, I came up with the story, which was based on the true story of somebody we knew who as a child had to leave Uganda, and didn’t want to leave. And they came here and struggled. Their father died in a refugee camp. He ended up becoming rich and wealthy but he always struggles with Christmas because it’s around the time when this trauma happened to him. I loved the idea of a story where someone really worshipped money and thought money could help them, but he realises it actually isn’t the case. It’s simple things, like being kind, being compassionate that actually makes you a rich person. And that’s what Dickens was saying in 1843.
Nick: You’ve taken this iconic, timeless story and set it in a contemporary musical. But, there are still things you seemed to have kept that make it feel a little “old-timey” still, like Mr. Sood’s old English style accent. What was your process in deciding what you wanted to keep as a homage to Dickens work, and what you wanted to update for modern times?
Gurinder Chadha: I was fully aware that people would be watching this movie already knowing the story. So, the pleasure of it for me was to make sure they were entertained all the way through, and make sure they appreciated the great pains it took to be as close to the book as possible. All the scenes in the film are lifted from the book, and then I just adapted that to my storyline. We also shot the film in Charles Dickens’ hometown.
I think with the contemporary sort of twist is that we have lots of headlines today about refugees. Sure, it’s a timely classic, and when the ghosts arrive, it’s very Dickens. But adding things like the ghost of Christmas past being Mexican, so we incorporate the Day of the Dead and had Eva Longoria. Billy Porter is a wonderful ghost of Christmas present because he is so joyful and spirited. And with the ghost of Christmas future being Boy George, we got him to sing a beautiful song that Gary Barlow had written, ‘Pain of the Past’.
Nick: We’ve touched on how the themes of Dickens story are timeless and easy to resonate with, but when you add in this story about Mr Sood immigrating to the UK, there is this specificity that makes the story feel even more resonant. I’m curious to know as a filmmaker, how much do you think about the idea of specificity leading to universality for audiences?
Gurinder Chadha: I always think that with your main characters, you have to base them on real people so that there’s truth in them. And with Mr Sood, he is made up of a couple of people, but both of them had childhood traumas that they were not really able to deal with. Then I read that Charles Dickens was suffering from depression when he wrote A Christmas Carol, and that he was looking for the good in humanity. And when you know that, suddenly it all falls into place.
There are a lot of people in the world who are depressed today, and can’t see their way through things. So, when we’re talking about Christmas, a time of joy and celebration, I think there is another side where people are struggling. So, it works to have a character who is struggling so much that he can’t see the joy in life.
It was interesting with Kunal [Nayaar], when he talks about the role, he never set out to play Scrooge. He was only playing this character who had this experience when he was a child, and then played him real. He wasn’t trying to emulate Scrooge, he was playing a character called Mr. Sood, and all the emotions that came with that.
What the movie is saying is that you don’t have to know what people have gone through, but it’s always nice to show compassion and kindness, even to people you don’t necessarily agree with. Which seems like a radical thing to say these days. The movie just feels timely. I’ve had messages from people who have had a hard year, like many of us, and they just felt connected to this film. It’s good to remember that we are all connected.
Nick: That to me just seems like a testament to the magic of movies and storytelling…
Gurinder Chadha: Absolutely. A few years back, someone sent me a beautiful article that was written by a young man who’d written a piece in the Sydney Morning Herald, and it was a piece about the 20th anniversary of Bend It Like Beckham. And he was talking about how he was 12 when the movie came out, and he saw it in the cinemas with his parents, and it was such a mind changing moment seeing everyone in the audience laughing and enjoying a film that featured people that looked like his parents.
That’s what I appreciate what you said, because ultimately, there’s so few people telling stories from my perspective, and show another way of looking at the world. I think that’s what cinema audiences want.
Thank you to Gurinder for her time, and to Rialto Distribution and NedCo PR for organising the interview. Christmas Karma is in Australian cinemas November 27.
