Gurinder Chadha – Race, Gender, Masala

Bartłomiej Nowak

Abstract

Gurinder Chadha - a British film director, whose family comes from the Indian Punjab - often takes up in her work the theme of the life of ethnic minorities in the countries of the West. The author of the article focuses on three important and often interrelated issues, appearing in Chadha’s films: interracial relationships, arranged marriages, and the discourse on gender and sexuality and how they are presented in the Bollywood cinematography and in the West. Observing every-day life of the diasporas allows the director to diagnose the changes that take place in contempo­rary society as a result of cross-cultural encounters. The analysis of her films leads to the conclusion that, according to Chadha, cultural patterns are often inadequate to describe contem­porary world. At the same time the director does not reject her roots. Sometimes she uses the aesthetics of Bollywood cinema, and in the traditional Indian culture and customs she not only sees their flaws (such as the oppressiveness against women), but also appreciates their beauty.