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Christmas Karma director reveals the emotional moment that reduced a crew member to tears

Gurinder Chadha spoke to RadioTimes.com about her new update on A Christmas Carol.

Danny Dyer and Kunal Nayyar in Christmas Karma

Published: Monday, 17 November 2025 at 11:38 am

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Gurinder Chadha's new festive film Christmas Karma hasn't exactly been blessed with the most positive reviews from critics – even being awarded a rare zero star rating from The Telegraph – but that hasn't stopped it from striking a chord with some viewers since it opened in UK cinemas over the weekend.

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A modern-day update of A Christmas Carol with a British-Indian lead, the film is not short on moments that attempt to tug on the heartstrings – and speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, director Chadha revealed that there was one scene in the film that proved so emotional it reduced one of her crew members to tears.

"There's a wonderful moment when Sood [this film's version of Scrooge, played by Kunal Nayyar] is looking at his past and his lost love," she explained. "He sees her now as an adult, and he's really sad and she's crying, and it was a very touching moment.

"And as we were filming it, I noticed my grip on the camera. He was crying, and I was like, 'Oh my God, you OK?' And he went, *sobbing* 'Yes.' [I thought] Wow, if the grip's crying, we're doing something right!"

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For all the tears, star Nayyar – best known for his role as Raj on The Big Bang Theory – stated that the experience of shooting the film was "so much fun".

He explained: "Even the difficult numbers – I mean, there was a joy in the pain too. So it wasn't just one part was fun and the other wasn't, I think every day for us was a miracle that we got through the day and got the movie made."

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Nayyar is joined in the film by an extraordinarily eclectic cast – perhaps best illustrated by the fact the ghosts are played by Hugh Bonneville, Eva Longoria, Billy Porter and Boy George. And there was one co-star who Nayyar appeared to particularly enjoy filming with: Danny Dyer (who plays a singing taxi-driver).

"It's so refreshing to spend time with someone who's so unapologetically themselves," he said. "And if you want to know what fame is, anytime we shot in London, the amount of people that would swarm Danny Dyer or paparazzi or anyone. I mean, he is the most beloved guy. Everyone loved him.

"The entire crew, people walking by, paparazzi – every time we shot, it was a big deal, because he's a legend over here. So I really have a lot of time for him. We got very close."

Read more:

Christmas Karma is now showing in UK cinemas.

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Authors

Black and white cut-out portrait headshot of Patrick Cremona, smiling against a lime green background.

Patrick CremonaSenior Film Writer

Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.

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