"my Scrooge is an Indian Tory who hates refugees."
Filmmaker Gurinder Chadha has revealed she will remake A Christmas Carol with “an Indian Tory who hates refugees”.
Gurinder, who is best known for Bend It Like Beckham, told MPs that her version of the Charles Dickens classic will be “very diverse”.
She also claimed the overall story would be “very close to Dickens’ original themes” given the “cost-of-living crisis in Britain”.
Gurinder was appearing at the hearing of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee to talk about British film and “high-end TV”.
She told committee members: “I’m making A Christmas Carol, but my Scrooge is an Indian Tory who hates refugees.
“But then we go on that journey with them, and hopefully they have reclamation.
“I did tell the Prime Minister about it and he said ‘Oh, don’t make me look bad’.
“And I said, ‘I don’t have to do that for you, Rishi’.
“The film is fun and it’s British, it’s Dickens, it’s very close to Dickens’ original themes, given our cost-of-living crisis in Britain.”
However, Gurinder Chadha admitted that she “struggled to get it off the ground” partially due to her lead character being Indian.
She continued: “By making it an Indian Scrooge it changes everything in terms of how I get it financed.
“Suddenly people go ‘It’s not commercial, it’s small, it’s an Indian film’.”
Describing her film as Dickens “done in a totally different cultural way”, Gurinder said Stephen Fry was the first person she sent the script to.
She said Stephen Fry had responded “super favourably” and said he had “cried buckets” when he read it because he was so moved.
Gurinder Chadha’s script is the latest example of popular works being adapted with a woke agenda.
In 2023, a West End production of The Wizard Of Oz was criticised for turning modern capitalism into the production’s villain.
The Mail on Sunday’s theatre critic Robert Gore-Langton wrote at the time:
“The look is evil American capitalism. The agenda is woke.”
Frank Furedi, emeritus professor of sociology at Kent University, said:
“This is another example of the disturbing trend of politicising children’s entertainment.”
Gurinder Chadha catapulted into the spotlight after creating Bend It Like Beckham.
The 2002 cult classic is about two young girls who dream of becoming professional footballers. The film starred Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley.
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