Starring Kunal Nayyar, Christmas Karma is now available On Demand and is gearing up for release in India on Deccember 12th. Also starring Hugh Bonneville, Eva Longoria, Billy Porter, Leo Suter, Charithra Chandran, Pixie Lott, Danny Dyer, and Boy George, Christmas Karma sees one of history’s greatest novels – Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol – transformed into a fresh, festive and feel-good Christmas musical. Mr. Sood (Kunal Nayyar) is our modern-day Scrooge, who we follow on an unforgettable journey with the three Ghosts of Christmas, who help him confront his demons and discover that kindness is the real meaning of Christmas.
In a special statement, Gurinder Chadha OBE gave insight into the making of Christmas Karma,
“For me Christmas begins with my annual family tradition, where I take my children to watch IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE at the Prince Charles Cinema in London.
Every year I cry buckets at the end while being moved by its life affirming message. A few years ago, after watching the movie for the 50th time, I decided I want to make a movie that makes me feel like Frank Capra’s masterpiece (which of course is heavily influenced by Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’.)
Dickens wrote his plea for a kinder, more tolerant Britain, ‘A Christmas Carol’, in 1843. He was writing at a time of great disparity between the rich and poor in wealth as he explored the essence of humane riches that are priceless.
Christmas Karma is my ode to Dickens and Capra with a contemporary twist.
Our Scrooge, called SOOD, is a rich British Indian, who despises poor people and refugees in particular. Sounds familiar to some of our current British Indian politicians?
It is also inspired by a family member who came to Britain around Christmas time having lost his home in Uganda as a child and arriving to a hostile welcome as a refugee. For years he didn’t feel Christmas was for him and the hardships he faced as a child left him despising it.
In my film, SOOD has decided that immense wealth brings him status and standing, so to hell with the poor, unemployed and disenfranchised who didn’t work as hard as him to get where he is.
Whilst a musical, my adaptation is very true to the original text and sentiment. Through the songs and revelations from THE GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE – SOOD and the audience will learn the urgent lesson of how prejudice, poverty and division in all its forms shapes SOOD and our society today. 182 years later, Dickens’ novella still resonates globally in today’s sometimes harsh world.
Despite SOOD seeking refuge from racism with money, I aim to show how he and the audience may have colluded in creating SOOD. The audience will, I hope, be invested to beg him to move on, transform, be part of a society that doesn’t allow Scrooges, twisted and shaped by prejudice, to grow.
So as in Dickens’ masterpiece, SOOD learns from the GHOSTS and the innocent, sick TINY TIM CRATCHIT that life is only worth living if you can bring joy to others. And by exorcising the demons of the past, we can help create a wonderful, humane, caring society for all – just in time for a big Christmas musical finale.
‘Living is Giving’ is part of the teaching of Guru Nanak and Sikhism. Being a Sikh, the core message of ‘Ek On Khar’ (We are all one) resonates heavily for me in the making of my film – a universally appealing film about the nature of personal pain and struggle when you can’t see past it to appreciate what you really have.
No Gurinder Chadha film is complete without a banging soundtrack that includes UK hip-hop, Soul, Bhangra, African rhythms, reimagined Christmas songs and traditional Carols. It is an affectionate, hopeful, musical celebration of the Britain of today and the future for our kids.
For me, Christmas Karma is a legacy film with a humane message that will live on long after I do.”
Check out these cool behind the scenes shots from the director!
Plus we have the new hit song Christmas Bhangra Karma Featuring Jind Mahi from Jassi Sidhu and Malkit Singh from the film’s soundtrack to get you ready!
Also do check out our incredible interview with Kunal Nayyar here.
