‘Christmas Karma’ – Love or hate it…
A popular, populist and inclusive take on British Christmas or just a cringey, contrived and inauthentic version of Charles Dicken’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ (1843)…? From the Editor’s desk…
GURINDER CHADHA’S ‘Christmas Karma’ is dividing opinions sharply – along ethnic lines?
That’s a difficult and uncomfortable thing to say – the big newspapers – The Guardian’s and The Telegraph’s film critics were scathing – and yet everywhere we have gone – folks like it.
Brown people that is – it’s entirely anecdotal – of course, you might argue we (as in www.asianculturevulture.com) are just biased – we don’t need to be – we treat the film much like any other South Asian offering that comes along but let’s face it, just how many (established) British Asian film directors are there?
On the eve of the release (on Thursday – November 13), there was a public screening at Cineworld in Leicester Square in central London – for Asian influencers and a smattering of Bafta members.
We actually sat next to one – white and high up in the BFI – she was lukewarm about it, when I asked at the end.
Chadha and lead Kunal Nayyar appeared in a post screening Q&A (excerpts in our Instagram video below) – and were in good form.
For the most part, the audience loved it – to be fair – the white folks the other side of us and probably Bafta members, appeared to like it and responded warmly to the film.
Later that evening at an invitation event, Chadha made an impassioned speech, addressing the room of Asian creatives – requesting us not to record it!
“Making films is hard; and when you want to cast a Brown person in the lead – the industry don’t want to know,” she lamented.
We were led to believe – were it not, that after ‘Black Panther: Wakanda’ (2022) and ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ (2018) and their phenomenal commercial success, that the world had changed…?
Has it? No.
Or not for South Asian filmmakers, who don’t want to make heavy arty dramas about ‘issoos’ – sure, there is a much needed place for that.
Financing this movie, Chadha has cited, elsewhere, was a struggle – the last £2 million came from private investors (friends) who personally knew her and backed her vision.
And the main financing (we understand) came from Civic Studios – an Indian company which also bought into her dream of making an Asian Christmas movie for global folks.
In Chadha’s five or so minute call to arms (for want of another better expression), she called on the Brown creatives to keep going, not take no for an answer and plough on – at the beginning of her spiel, she did say that the film would divide opinion – you either loved or hated it – she may well have seen the way mainstream film critics were reacting to it.
If your film is avowedly commercial, as Chadha’s films tend to be – the terrain is harder in some ways – by and large, she doesn’t make films for the critics (and that’s a compliment, guys!) – no one needs their endorsement, if you are making films for Southall High Street, Wembley High Road or Handsworth in Birmingham.
She is an established and much respected filmmaker – on a global footing – just how many British (women) directors are there right now, we might ask?
The facts also tell a story that is not much recognised, acknowledged or even celebrated in her home country – she is one of Britain’s most prolific and successful directors – only the rather more arty and film festival favourite, Lynne Ramsay, has more film credits to her name as a British woman filmmaker.
Chadha told the creatives that evening, she has to start over again every time she wants to make a film…
Is that true of other directors who have made such an iconic and now hallowed film as ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ (2002)?
Perhaps the British film industry should be asking itself that question…
Sailesh Ram
Editor www.asianculturevulture.com
At the Leicester Square screening (excerpts) on Thursday (November 13)
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRJAdwnAo_v/?igsh=MXUzbXdqMG1kODExdQ==
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