8 months ago
Christmas Karma: Anushka Shah on Collaboration
Anushka Shah, the CEO of Civic Studios, talked about her collaboration with director Gurinder Chadha on the film 'Christmas Karma'.
They met in Cannes two years ago and decided to work together on this Bollywood-inspired musical comedy-drama.
The film is based on Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' and stars Kunal Nayyar.
Anushka explained that 50% of the film's funding came from Indians around the world.
She also discussed how cinema has changed, especially with the rise of OTT platforms and short-form content.
Anushka shared that films like 'Rang De Basanti' and 'Homebound' inspired her to contribute to cinema.
Anushka Shah collaborated with Gurinder Chadha on the film 'Christmas Karma' after meeting in Cannes two years ago.
The film is a Bollywood-inspired adaptation of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' and stars Kunal Nayyar.
50% of the film's funding came from Indians worldwide, highlighting the importance of diversity and representation.
Anushka discussed the evolution of cinema, noting the impact of OTT platforms and short-form content on viewing habits.
Films like 'Rang De Basanti' and 'Homebound' inspired Anushka to contribute to cinema.
- Who
- Anushka Shah, Gurinder Chadha, Kunal Nayyar
- What
- Collaboration on the film 'Christmas Karma'
- Where
- Cannes, France
- When
- Collaboration began two years ago in Cannes
- Why
- To support diversity and representation in global cinema
Key facts
- Film Title
- Christmas Karma
- Director
- Gurinder Chadha
- Producer
- Anushka Shah
- Lead Actor
- Kunal Nayyar
- Funding Source
- 50% from Indians worldwide
- Film Genre
- Musical comedy-drama
- Inspiration
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Quotes
Anushka Shah
Founder and CEO of Civic Studios, producer of 'Christmas Karma'
“I think a few things that have happened, I’m sure you’re seeing it, I guess, also on the journalism side, but I think the media industry, the way it used to operate has completely gone through a process of destruction. But with that also comes recreation, you know? Pre-pandemic cinema attendance was much higher. That has definitely struggled post-pandemic, and I think one of the key reasons for that is during the pandemic, we were all literally watching entertainment from home. So the supply of content started to cater to watching things at home. Then the other is also the burst of TikTok and Instagram Reels and short-form but high-quality content on your phones. We didn’t have so much of this pre-pandemic, so as a result, our attention and what we watch has got distributed now with not just cinema, but cinemas, short-form content, streaming content at home.”
firstpost.com
“One of the reasons she had explained as to why the film struggled to find funding is that often when you are a female director and a South Asian director in the West trying to make a more ambitious film, it’s not always easy to get support and financing for that. Particularly for this film, the main protagonist is played by an Indian, Kunal Nayyar from The Big Bang Theory. The combination of a South Asian director, South Asian lead actor, but for a more Western audience, that made it challenging for her. And of course, it’s generally a difficult time in the industry. But for us, the fact that it’s a woman. We feel like that’s exactly the kind of diversity and representation you need in a more global conversation. So that’s why we came on board to support and finance the film, and then a couple of the other supporters also had very similar reasoning.”
firstpost.com
