Gurinder Chadha

It was no surprise that director Gurinder Chadha, despite a traditional upbringing in a Punjabi household, did more than what was expected of an Indian woman. Her distinctly Anglo surroundings in Southall, London did more than just fuel her curiosity about other cultures; she sometimes outright rejected her family's heritage - like learning classical Indian dances or learning how to cook Aloo Gobi - in order to find her own identity. But as she grew older and more aware of the burgeoning Anglo-Asian subculture right under her nose, she developed an active interest in her mixed cultural identity, wearing traditional Indian dress and headwear with Doc Martins, for example, while becoming disenchanted with how her people were perceived. Her displeasure fueled her desire to see better, accurate portrayals of Indians in popular culture as she strove to become a film director.