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Gurinder Chadha wins top Asian award in UK
London, May 11: Acclaimed NRI filmmaker Gurinder Chadha has won one of the top honours at the Asian women of achievement awards here.
London, May 11: Acclaimed NRI filmmaker Gurinder
Chadha has won one of the top honours at the Asian women of
achievement awards here.
The director, whose "Bend it like Beckham" was a smash
hit in various parts of the world, taking more than 11 million
pounds in Britain alone, received the chairman's award at a
function yesterday, sponsored by financial mail.
"Her work universally transcends the Asian boundary and
she has reached a summit on both a technical and creative
level," said Pinky Lilani, chairman and founder of the awards.
Speaking on the occasion, Gurinder said "there are few
Asian women in the film industry, but I don't think it has
worked against me."
About her acclaimed film, Gurinder said "the film was
based on my parents.”
Gurinder, daughter of an ice cream salesman, was born in Kenya but grew up in Southhall, west London.
After taking a degree in development studies at the university of east Anglia, she expected to work for a charity, but became interested in the role of the media and how the camera worked. So she found a job as a news reporter.
She began her career at BBC radio before moving into research for TV. Links she forged with the British Film Institute led to her working on her first film.
"I saw 'My beautiful Laundrette' and was inspired by it. I wanted to make something like that," she said.
Gurinder has made a number of award-winning documentaries for the British film institute, BBC and Channel 4, many of them with an Asian theme.
One of her early notable successes was the 1989 documentary "I'm English but..." It followed a group of young English Asians with views very different from their parents.
Her first feature film, "Bhaji on the Beach," made in 1994, told the story of a group of Asian women on a trip to Blackpool.
Gurinder went on in 2000 to make "What's Cooking," the story of four neighbouring families in Los Angeles at Thanksgiving.
"It is difficult for anyone to raise money to make films, so I don't think I found it any harder than anyone else. But I am finding it a lot easier now that 'Bend it like Beckham' has done so well," she added.
I wanted to show people like me on screen. I just hope that women want to see these stories and that they will be inspired to do what they want to."
"It is about being a role model and being visible so that women are encouraged to do well."
"There is now an Indian football league for women called The Beckham League," she claimed.
Gurinder's next project is an Indian musical version of "Pride and Prejudice" in which Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai will be cast in the lead role.
Bureau report
Gurinder, daughter of an ice cream salesman, was born in Kenya but grew up in Southhall, west London.
After taking a degree in development studies at the university of east Anglia, she expected to work for a charity, but became interested in the role of the media and how the camera worked. So she found a job as a news reporter.
She began her career at BBC radio before moving into research for TV. Links she forged with the British Film Institute led to her working on her first film.
"I saw 'My beautiful Laundrette' and was inspired by it. I wanted to make something like that," she said.
Gurinder has made a number of award-winning documentaries for the British film institute, BBC and Channel 4, many of them with an Asian theme.
One of her early notable successes was the 1989 documentary "I'm English but..." It followed a group of young English Asians with views very different from their parents.
Her first feature film, "Bhaji on the Beach," made in 1994, told the story of a group of Asian women on a trip to Blackpool.
Gurinder went on in 2000 to make "What's Cooking," the story of four neighbouring families in Los Angeles at Thanksgiving.
"It is difficult for anyone to raise money to make films, so I don't think I found it any harder than anyone else. But I am finding it a lot easier now that 'Bend it like Beckham' has done so well," she added.
I wanted to show people like me on screen. I just hope that women want to see these stories and that they will be inspired to do what they want to."
"It is about being a role model and being visible so that women are encouraged to do well."
"There is now an Indian football league for women called The Beckham League," she claimed.
Gurinder's next project is an Indian musical version of "Pride and Prejudice" in which Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai will be cast in the lead role.
Bureau report