Gurinder Chadha facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gurinder Chadha OBE
Chadha in 2019
Born	(1960-01-10) 10 January 1960 (age 65) Nairobi, Kenya
Citizenship	Kenyan-British
Education	Clifton Primary School University of East Anglia London College of Printing
Occupation	Film director, screenwriter
Years active	1990–present
Spouse(s)	Paul Mayeda Berges
Children	2
Parent(s)	Bhajan (father)

Gurinder Kaur Chadha (born 10 January 1960) is a British film director who was born in Kenya. Her family came from India. Many of her films show the lives of Indian people living in England. A common theme in her movies is how Indian women in the UK balance their traditional culture with modern life. Her films often explore social and emotional challenges, especially for immigrants who feel caught between two different worlds.

Gurinder Chadha often turns books into movies, but she adds her own special touch. She is well known for films like Bhaji on the Beach (1993), Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Bride and Prejudice (2004), It's a Wonderful Afterlife (2010), and Viceroy's House (2017). Her more recent works include the musical comedy-drama Blinded by the Light (2019) and the TV show Beecham House.

Early Life and Moving to the UK

Gurinder Chadha was born in Nairobi, Kenya, when it was a British colony. Her family was part of the large group of Indian people who lived in East Africa. Her parents were both born in Kenya. They stayed there until political problems before Kenya's independence made them think about moving.

Her family had "united citizenship" under a British law from 1948. This law allowed them to enter and live in Britain. Her father moved first, and the rest of the family joined him a year later in Southall, West London. Gurinder was two years old then. She went to Clifton Primary School.

Gurinder's father faced a lot of unfair treatment because he was a Sikh Indian. He wore a turban and had a beard. He had worked in a bank in Kenya but could not get the same job in Britain because of his appearance. Eventually, the family opened a shop to make a living.

Finding Her Identity

Many of Gurinder's future films would be inspired by her own experiences. She grew up being both Indian and English at the same time. She learned to deal with having two different identities. After finishing her documentary I'm British but..., she wanted the first showing to be in the Southall Community Center. This was her way of honoring her home community.

For example, she chose not to wear traditional Indian clothes. She also refused to cook for her family. She felt that having all the women cooking while the men ate was unfair, even though it was a part of Indian culture. So, she sat at the table with the men and spoke her mind.

After high school, she went to the University of East Anglia. She studied politics and economics there. Later, she went to the London College of Printing in 1984/85 for postgraduate studies. When she decided to go to university, her teachers suggested she take a secretarial course or go to a less challenging university.

Gurinder Chadha's Film Career

Gurinder Chadha started her media career in radio in the mid-1980s. She then became a news reporter for the BBC television. She directed many award-winning documentaries for the British Film Institute, BBC, and Channel Four. In 1989, she released the documentary I'm British but... for Channel 4. This film showed the lives of young British Asians.

In 1990, Chadha started her own film company, Umbi Films. She had no formal film training. Her first film was an 11-minute short called Nice Arrangement (1991). It was about a British Asian wedding. This film was chosen for the Cannes Film Festival in 1991.

Chadha has said that the film Purab aur Pachhim influenced her work. She loved how it explored culture and the challenges of living in the West. She also loved It's a Wonderful Life, which inspired her to tell stories about families.

She was also inspired by British Bhangra music. This music mixes Punjabi folk sounds, electronic music, Bombay film styles, and Western disco. Her film I'm British, but... used this music to show how British Asian identity is a mix of different cultures.

Her documentary Acting our Age (1992) tried to understand what it was like to be Asian and elderly in Britain. During the film, she gave cameras to the older people. This allowed them to make their own film and share their views.

Major Film Successes

Her first feature film, Bhaji on the Beach (1994), won many international awards. It was nominated for a BAFTA as 'Best British Film of 1994'. It also won the Evening Standard British Film Award for 'Best Newcomer to British Cinema'. This film was the first full-length movie made by a British Asian woman.

Bhaji on the Beach is about a day in the lives of Indian women from different generations. It shows how they adapt to mix their cultural background with modern UK life. Chadha uses small details in dialogue and clothing to show their specific culture. For example, one character wears a leather jacket over her Indian clothes. This shows how she is blending her two cultures. The film also shows how people face unfair treatment from both outside and inside the British-Indian community.

The film also deals with issues like family problems and traditional male roles. It was made on a small budget but was praised for its look at stereotypes, immigration, and gender roles. After this, several big projects followed, including Bend It Like Beckham (2002) and Bride and Prejudice (2004).

In 1995, she directed Rich Deceiver, a two-part TV drama for the BBC. It was watched by 11 million people. Her award-winning films have earned over $300 million around the world.

What's Cooking? was the opening film of the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. It was the first British script invited to the Sundance Institute's Writer's Lab. The film won an audience award in New York and Chadha won 'Best British Director' at the London Film Critics' Circle Awards.

Bend it Like Beckham was a huge success. It was the highest-earning British-funded film in the UK at the time. The film was very popular around the world. It was number one at the box office in the U.S., Australia, and other countries. It won audience awards at film festivals like Locarno and Toronto.

The film was nominated for a Golden Globe and a BAFTA. Like Bhaji on the Beach, Bend it Like Beckham features a strong Indian-British woman named Jess. She tries to achieve her dreams while also respecting her traditional Indian parents. Gurinder Chadha wanted the film to be a "girl power" movie. It shows both a white woman and an Indian-British woman working together for their dream of playing professional soccer. The film also talked about unfair treatment based on race. In 2015, Chadha turned Bend it Like Beckham into a stage musical in London.

Chadha at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival in Germany.

Bride and Prejudice combined Jane Austen's classic story with Indian and Western musicals. It was the first film to open at number one in the UK and India on the same day. It tried to mix Bollywood, Hollywood, and a "British feel" into one movie. Chadha added an Indian twist to each character and scene from the original book. For example, the class differences in the book became differences in race, with an Indian female lead and a white male lead. The film was made for a Western audience, so it included both Bollywood and Western musical numbers.

She wrote the script for The Mistress of Spices (2005). This film was based on the book by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Her husband, Paul Mayeda Berges, directed it.

In 2005, Chadha appeared on the BBC show Your London. She told the story of a Sikh prince who lived in London in the 1800s. In 2006, she took part in the BBC show Who Do You Think You Are?. On this show, she traced her Sikh family history back to Kenya and then to Punjab, India.

Her film It's a Wonderful Afterlife first showed at the Sundance Film Festival before being released worldwide in 2010.

Gurinder Chadha has received several special degrees from British universities. She was also awarded an O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 2006 for her contributions to the British film industry.

In 2011, Chadha announced she would work with composer A. R. Rahman and lyricist Stephen Schwartz. They planned to create DreamWorks Animation's first musical set in India. She announced an animated musical called Monkeys of Bollywood, based on the Indian epic Ramayana. This Bollywood-style animated musical is set in Mumbai. It is about two monkeys who try to stop an ancient demon from taking over the world.

Her film Viceroy's House is a big drama about India's independence and division. It is based on historical books. It was released in 2017.

She was a guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in 2015.

Chadha created, co-wrote, and directed the Indian historical series Beecham House. It was shown on ITV in 2019.

In 2019, it was announced that Chadha would direct an animated musical film based on the graphic novel Pashmina for Netflix. However, the film was later canceled in 2022.

As of 2021, Chadha is working as a writer, director, and producer on a stop-motion musical film set in India. The film will tell the story of Bodhi, a young Indian elephant from Kerala who dreams of becoming a Bollywood dancer. It is being made by Aardman Animations.

In January 2024, she spoke in the British Parliament. She talked about the British film industry. She mentioned that her upcoming film would have an Indian main character. She said her character was an "Indian Tory who hates refugees." Her project Christmas Karma was later announced. It is a Bollywood musical inspired by Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It will feature music from Gary Barlow, Shaznay Lewis, and Nitin Sawhney.

Personal Life

Gurinder Chadha is married to American screenwriter and director Paul Mayeda Berges. They have twins, a boy named Ronak and a girl named Kumiko, who were born in 2007.

Chadha has often spoken about how women are represented in the film industry. At an event in 2017, she said it is important to support female filmmakers. She believes that women need to be active in fighting for change in the film industry, which has mostly been controlled by men.

A study on British Cinema history named Chadha as the UK's most active female director working today. She was honored with the Sophiya Haque Services to British Television and Film Award in 2017.

She actively supports many charities, including Medical Aid Films (MAF). She is also a mentor and role model for various creative and film organizations.

Regarding her beliefs, Chadha said in a 2014 interview that she believes in something greater than us. She believes in fate and that everything happens for a reason. She also believes in karma, meaning that if you are a good person and do good things, you will have a better life.

Filmography

Television

• I'm British But... (1989) (TV)
• Pain, Passion and Profit (1992) (TV)
• Rich Deceiver (1995) (TV film)
• Desi Rascals (2015)
• Beecham House (2019)

Film

Appearances

• Your London (2005)
• Koffee with Karan (2005)
• Who Do You Think You Are? (2006)
• BBC Asian (2010)

Recognition

She was named one of the BBC's 100 women of 2013.

See also

In Spanish: Gurinder Chadha para niños

• List of female film and television directors
• List of LGBT-related films directed by women
• Women's cinema
• British Indian
• Indian community of London
• List of British Sikhs