29 Facts About Gurinder Chadha

Gurinder Chadha is best known for the films Bhaji on the Beach, Bend It Like Beckham, Bride and Prejudice, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, It's a Wonderful Afterlife and Viceroy's House.

Gurinder Chadha was born in Nairobi, Kenya to a devout Punjabi Sikh family, then a British colony.

Gurinder Chadha's father and mother were both born in Kenya, and remained there until the political turbulence leading up to independence prompted the family to consider relocating.

Gurinder Chadha's family held "united citizenship" under the British Nationality Act 1948 which granted them full rights of entry and settlement in Britain.

Gurinder Chadha's father moved first and was joined by the family the following year in Southall, West London, when she was two years of age, where she attended Clifton Primary School.

Gurinder Chadha's father had worked as a clerical officer in Barclays Bank in Kenya and was unable to secure the same position due to his appearance.

Gurinder Chadha insisted the premiere be held at the Southall Community Center to honor her home community.

Gurinder Chadha directed award-winning documentaries for the British Film Institute, BBC and Channel Four, and in 1989 released the documentary I'm British but.

In 1990, Gurinder Chadha established a production company, Umbi Films having no formal film training.

Gurinder Chadha was empowered by British Bhangra music which combines Punjabi folk rhythms, electronic instrumentation, Bombay film styles, and Western disco; I'm British, but.

Gurinder Chadha's documentary Acting our Age, set out to understand what it was like being Asian and elderly in Britain.

Gurinder Chadha first received wide recognition for the film in 1993.

Gurinder Chadha utilizes subtlety and nuances in dialogue and fashion in order to relay the fact that these women come from a very specific culture.

Prejudice comes from both outside and inside the British-Indian community; white men treat the immigrants as garbage, while the older generation of Indian women judge the modern woman is challenged by the progressive views of the younger women, as they try to break free from the "oppression" that Gurinder Chadha fought hard to break free from herself.

Gurinder Chadha's award-winning films have earned over $300 million at the international box office.

The film was voted joint audience award winner in the New York Film Critics' 2000 season, and Gurinder Chadha won the award for Best British Director in the London Film Critics' Circle Awards.

For each character and scene of the original novel, Gurinder Chadha adds an Indian twist.

Gurinder Chadha wrote the screenplay for The Mistress of Spices, based upon the novel of the same name by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, with Berges, who directed the film.

In 2005, Gurinder Chadha appeared on the BBC show Your London, in which she told the story of a Sikh prince who lived in London in the 19th century.

Gurinder Chadha has received several Honorary Doctorates from British universities and was awarded an OB.

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

Gurinder Chadha created, co-wrote and directed the Indian historical series Beecham House which aired on ITV in 2019.

Gurinder Chadha was announced to direct an animated musical film adaptation of the graphic novel Pashmina for Netflix.

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

Gurinder Chadha has spoken out about representation of women in the film industry.

At a 2017 Bird's Eye View event at Sands Films in London, Gurinder Chadha stressed the importance of actively supporting female filmmakers at the cinema, especially on the opening weekend.

Gurinder Chadha noted that women can no longer be passive in the fight for change within a historically male-dominated industry.

Gurinder Chadha is an active patron of numerous charities including MAF is a Creative Mentor and Role Model for Creative Access, Directors UK Inspire, the BFI and the Sundance Directors' Lab, and Patron of Women in Film UK.

Gurinder Chadha was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2013.