India, Nov. 15 -- Gurinder Chadha is set to give Christmas a Desi twist with her upcoming release Christmas Karma, starring Kunal Nayyar, Billy Porter and Eva Longoria. The film comes six years after her 2019 directorial Blinded By The Light. Ask her why it took so long, and the 65-year-old says, "There were three years of Covid and lockdown. After that, there was the actors' strike. It took a while for the film industry in the West to recover, and it still hasn't fully. You'll find studios are either making big blockbuster films or streamers are making films. It's a tough time. The streamers have had a big impact on independent filmmaking globally. But I think it's picking up." The director reveals that Christmas Karma is a musical and her ode to the late Italian-American director Frank Capra. "Every year, I watch Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946) on Christmas. It's an essential viewing because it's actually quite like an Indian film. I make my children watch it too, and I sit there and cry. I felt like I wanted to make a film that made me feel like that. So, Christmas Karma is my version of Frank Capra's film," she says. One of Gurinder's most popular works is the 2002 film Bend It Like Beckham. Earlier this year, she hinted at working on a sequel. She shares, "I couldn't think of an idea that will better the movie. But given the success of women's football, the way the Indian diaspora has flourished around the world, and the impact the film has had socially and culturally, there is a global expectation. So, I'm exploring what we are going to do, how we are going to do it, and I have some good ideas. The FIFA Women's World Cup is in 2027, and I want to make sure we do something that feels as exciting as being at a match there. Hopefully, we will release it before the World Cup." Reflecting on the impact of the film on the Indian diaspora, especially in the West, Gurinder says, "My whole reason to make films was because I wanted to see people on the screen that looked like me in the cinema in the West. It was a very rare occurrence. We were either on the margins or not there at all. So my purpose was to put someone that looked like me right in the centre of the frame."...