Gurinder Chadha, Pan Nalin projects part of Civic Studios’ global expansion

Gurinder Chadha’s Christmas Karma and an untitled English-language feature by Pan Nalin are part of Civic Studios’ slate as the production house continues global expansion from its bases in Mumbai and London.

Founded by Anushka Shah and incubated at the MIT Media Lab, Civic Studios works with the mission of creating content that drives change. The studio boasts a 70% female team.

The highlight of its 2024 slate is Chadha’s Christmas Karma, a reimagining of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The Christmas musical set in London stars Kunal Nayyar, Eva Longoria, and Boy George in lead roles and is due in cinemas in December.

Nalin’s untitled English-language feature is being developed alongside Monsoon Films.

Ishan Shukla’s animation feature Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust, which premiered at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam 2024, winning the NETPAC award for Best Asian Film, is also part of Civic Studios’ slate. The voice cast includes Golshifteh Farahani and Karan Johar.

Family Aaj Kal, streaming on SonyLIV, is a comedy-drama series starring Apoorva Arora and tackles themes of love and social bias. Little Thomas, on the other hand, is a family feature set in 90s Goa directed by Kaushal Oza. It stars Rasika Dugal and Gulshan Devaiah in lead roles.

Upcoming projects include an untitled Arabic- and English-language feature directed by Fateme Ahmadi and developed with the BFI and BBC Film.

Shor-Gul is a comedic caper directed by Hitesh Kewalya, focusing on a news anchor’s chaotic life.

Chadha said, “I am delighted to be working with Anushka Shah and her lovely team at Civic Studios who have supported me on this project very early on. What a pleasure and honor it’s been for me to work with amazing Indian female producers.”

Nalin added, “From day one, I have been attracted to Civic Studios’ manifesto; entertainment with impact. That has been my quest as a filmmaker, I have repeatedly strived to tell stories that entertain and inspire. So, we are united by this vision and our upcoming endeavour will show our commitments towards engaging and empowering storytelling.” ­

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He continued, “This upcoming English language feature, is one of the most ambitious projects of my career. It’s going to be an emotionally charged tragi-comedy about man-made boundaries and borders of all kind; political, cultural, religious, social, and so on. Given the state of our world today, there has never been a more appropriate time than today to make this movie. Needless to say, many years of sculpting has already gone into shaping this ambitious project. It is epic. It is explosive. It is a sane story about insanity. It is an insane film about sanity,” Nalin said.

Shah added, “Cinema was such a big influence on me growing up. Later in life working in politics and then as a researcher at MIT really helped imagine bringing citizen power, data-driven media, and social change together. The ethos of Civic Studios, founded at the MIT Media Lab, is to help become aware of social issues and the struggles of those around us, but to also see how we can together move the needle – is there a way to light a candle rather than sit through the darkness?”