‘Christmas Karma’: Festive, Familiar, and Sometimes a Little Homemade (Like Punjabi Mathis)

It’s our holiday tradition to watch Christmas movies, and this year we were genuinely excited that instead of rewatching the oldies but goodies — “Home Alone,” “Elf,” and “The Holiday” — we’d finally get to try something new like “Christmas Karma.” The film, a Dickens-style comedy by Gurinder Chadha, is a Bollywood-inspired musical retelling of “A Christmas Carol.” It follows miserly British-Indian tycoon Eshaan Sood, who is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve and forced to confront his traumatic past as a Ugandan-Asian refugee, his present-day greed, and ultimately his own capacity for compassion and redemption.

It was already beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. Many of our neighbors had their decorations up — lights, inflatables, entire nativity scenes — and at one point the power even flickered from all the overloaded circuits on the block. After a homemade dinner, our family snuggled up on the couch. Our Christmas tree stood glowing in the corner, complete with an angel topper brought all the way from England, which somehow made the experience feel extra meaningful and personal.

High Expectations, Uneven Execution

Because this film comes from Gurinder Chadha, the director of “Bend It Like Beckham,” I expected something more polished, more evocative, more emotionally charged. Chadha is known for blending humor, heart, and cultural nuance with confident sleight of hand. And while “Christmas Karma” certainly tries to capture that signature mix, with vibrant musical numbers, a cross-diaspora cast, and flashbacks to the 1972 expulsion of Indians from Uganda under Idi Amin, the final product feels surprisingly uneven.

At times, the movie plays like a natural, unfiltered story told with sincerity. At other times, it veers into something resembling a high-budget home movie, lacking the cinematic finesse one expects from a director of Chadha’s experience. It’s festive, yes, but sometimes one wants more than Punjabi mathis in a cookie jar, even if they’re encrusted with diamonds.

There are scenes that genuinely work. One of my favorites is the moment with the cabbie singing to Mr. Sood. It’s small but comforting. Up north — in New York, Boston, Chicago — cabbies always blast Christmas music in December, and that scene captured the very real winter magic I’ve experienced on a few cold late-night rides.

And then there’s the grand musical finale — the “Last Christmas” desi remix featuring George Michael and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. It’s fun, full of lights, color, and bhangra beats.

Sood’s Backstory

Kunal Nayyar’s cantankerous Eshaan Sood, who swaps Scrooge’s classic “bah, humbug” for the desi “bakwas!,” has a more layered backstory than Dickens’ Ebenezer. His childhood displacement, the loss of home and family stability, even the memory of a beloved pet — all contribute to a more complex emotional arc. It’s easy to understand how someone could feel alienated by the over-commercialized frenzy of the holidays.

Yet the film struggles to balance Sood’s heavier emotional journey with the rest of the cast, many of whom haven’t experienced the same depth of loss and instead mask their loneliness with merriment fueled by alcohol, sugar, tinsel, gifts, and peppy Bollywood-style musical numbers. At moments, I was reminded of Chevy Chase’s meltdown in “Christmas Vacation” — but “Christmas Karma” presents a softer dynamic. Sood’s employee Bob Cratchit (Leo Suter) is almost too nice, chalking up Sood’s grumpiness to past trauma rather than confronting him. Sood’s bitterness is so in-your-face that the tonal swings feel sharper and sometimes jarring.

The Three Ghosts

The trio of ghosts is where Chadha’s creativity really pops.

The Ghost of Christmas Past (Eva Longoria) arrives in an outfit blending Mexican folkloric flair with celestial shimmer — beautiful, but surprisingly disconnected from Sood’s cultural background.

The Ghost of Christmas Present (Billy Porter) is flamboyant, theatrical, and draped in gold. He brings attitude and energy but occasionally feels like he stepped in from an entirely different show.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (Boy George) appears in a shadowy, gothic ensemble that nods to classic Dickens adaptations.

Bea and the London Setting

The scenes with Bea Fernandez (Charithra Chandran of “Bridgerton”), Sood’s first love, offer some of the film’s most honest and human moments. Their youthful romance, his early ambitions, and the eventual heartbreak stitch together the emotional center of Sood’s transformation.

London itself becomes an uncredited supporting character: the glittering Ferris Wheel, the glowing bridges, the winding side streets. One of the most charming touches is the corner shop run by a turbaned sardarji and his wife, who offers Sood tea with the warmth and familiarity one might still encounter today. These details root the film in a recognizable, lived-in city that feels festive and multicultural in the best way.

And then there’s the grand musical finale — the “Last Christmas” desi remix featuring George Michael and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. It’s fun, full of lights, color, and bhangra beats. I didn’t exactly see myself dancing a jig to a Punjabi Christmas mashup… but I smiled and sang along anyway.

A Sobering Reminder

Beneath all the glitter, “Christmas Karma” ultimately serves as a sobering reminder that anyone can be uprooted from the place they’ve called home — no matter how long they’ve lived there.

The film is festive and familiar, with moments of genuine warmth and cultural authenticity. But it’s also rough around the edges, lacking the polish that would elevate it from pleasant holiday viewing to something truly memorable. Like homemade Punjabi mathis, it’s made with love and good intentions — but sometimes you crave something with a bit more refinement.

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With one foot in Huntsville, Alabama, the other in her birth home, India, and a heart steeped in humanity, Monita Soni writes as a contemplative practice. She has published hundreds of poems, movie reviews, book critiques, and essays, and contributed to combined literary works. Her two books are My Light Reflections and Flow Through My Heart. You can hear her commentaries on Sundial Writers Corner, WLRH 89.3 FM.