Gurinder Chadha arrived in India to visit Goa this week, but she wasn’t there just for the scenery. “Yeah, it’s lovely here in Goa, and it feels nice. But I am more interested in how Indian audiences view what I do and how I do it.” The perfect means for getting that feedback, the International Film Festival of India, is hosting a retrospective of Gurinder’s Bend It Like Beckham, Bride and Prejudice, and Bhaji on the Beach.
Gurinder has long been known as a Hindi film fan – her Bride and Prejudice was an affectionate ode to the movies she grew up watching. However, the Punjabi-descended director once again proved Bollywood’s universal appeal when she admitted she is not fluent in Hindi.
Fans of all linguistic persuasions will be happy to hear the writer-director has no intention of resting on her laurels. Her next film, It’s A Wonderful Afterlife – set in Southall – an Asian-heavy section of London – will star actress-activist Shabana Azmi.
