I guess to get an amazing shot you need people to forget you are there and then just keep rolling the camera. This comes easily to Gurinder Chadha, while she’s bowling people over with her unlimited Punjabi enthusiasm. Hubby Paul, meanwhile, collaborates with her on the screenplays of their films. They have recently had fraternal twins, Ronak Singh Chadha Berges (named after Gurinder’s dad, meaning exuberance, life and soul, laughter) and Kumiko Kaur Chadha Berges (named after Paul’s mum, meaning everlasting beauty in Japanese). They have also completed making their new film, Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging. This much-hyped British comedy revolves around a 14-year-old girl, who keeps a hilarious journal describing her soaring moods and bottomless anguish and includes all the things she learns about kissing, which engulfs her life. Along with their mum and dad, the twins will be seen for the first time in cameo roles in this film.
For her innovative contribution to the British film industry, Chadha was awarded an OBE, in the Queen’s Birthday honours list in 2006. We met at Soho Square in London for the first ever photo shots of their babies and then proceeded to Patara Thai restaurant in Greek Street, for a bite and a chat about their new endeavours.

On new motherhood
We waited so long to have children and our lawyer in LA summed it up beautifully: having children, he said, is like growing an extra heart and falling in love again. It may sound cliched but that’s exactly how I feel. Even if they have kept me up at night and sometimes I have had less than three hours of sleep, in the morning when I go into their room when they are just waking up and they give me a beautiful smile, it just lights up my world. I used to meditate in the evenings but now I am busy with both the babies, feeding them around that time, and often find myself mulling over the day with these beautiful little beings in my arms. They have helped us relax and taken a lot of the stress away and added magic to our lives.

On raising multicultural children in Britain today
I think the challenge is that our children should have a strong identity — an individual identity. And, that does not mean they have to turn out exactly like us but that they should have a cultural appreciation of their heritage and background. At the same time, it’s important for us as parents to acknowledge that they will be forging a new identity of their own. I think it’s important for children to understand what it is that has shaped their parents, as they will always carry a residue of that with them. They should be enriched by it and turn it around into something that makes sense to them. I don’t believe in this whole concept of culture clash, whether you are too western or too Indian. People are much more westernised in India than they are here in England and vice versa. Being Indian or of Indian origin can mean so many different things today.

On her new film, Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging
We had been approached by Paramount Studios to come on board as they were having problems turning this book into a film. Paul and I read it and I could immediately see its potential as it’s about being a teenager and growing up in England. We wrote it very quickly and the script has turned out to be fantastic. I was not originally meant to direct it, as I was going to be making the film, Dallas. But then I became pregnant and Dallas looked like it was not going to see the light of day. It was all getting complicated. Paramount then suggested that they were happy to work around my pregnancy. It was like a dream job for any woman. So I did my preproduction work and took a few months off for maternity leave and then came back and shot the film and now I am editing it. It is going to be released in July. We work just off the road from our apartment in Soho and I go home for lunch to be with my babies. I am always there for their bath time and bedtime in the evenings. Paul and I have changed the book slightly while adapting it into a script and have added an Indian girl as one of the characters. We wanted to give the film a contemporary feel and add a global touch to it. The new actress who is being launched in this film comes from Derby and is called Manjeevan Grewal.

On the effect of Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging
Even though this film is about young girls and the boys they fall in love with and their parents’ reactions to it all, the beauty is that no matter who you are, when watching it, it transports you back to your teenage years. You can sit there just remembering what it was like when you were 15 and how you pined for certain boys, stayed tongue-tied in front of others, how boys related to you and how obnoxious you were with your parents. And how, all of a sudden, your mood would quickly change when you were with your own friends. It’s about a group of young girls and their journey of self-discovery. It’s a classic teenage high school romantic movie.

On the character based on her own childhood experiences
In this film, I think it’s there in a combination of the characters in the girls; when I was that age I used to speak like one of them and say things like she does. There is an innocence about that age; you think you are an adult and try and behave like one but every moment a vulnerable little child surfaces. They want to be women but they are not there yet. So in many ways this film crystalises the pressures young girls face to be all grown up when they are not ready yet.

On the recurring theme of female empowerment in her films
It’s just how I see the world, it’s what appeals to me. Women are everywhere nowadays taking control and making a mark. It’s their story and their voice that I want to capture on the screen, from across the globe in a way that’s three dimensional and truthful. It’s very rare that you see a film made from a female perspective; they are mostly with a male viewpoint but I like to explore and depict even male characters from a female outlook, it’s refreshing and different.

On her biggest challenge
I think the hardest challenge has been learning the ways of the filmmaking business. It’s a very tough, dirty business; you have to be very assured and confident about what you are doing, with a strong support mechanism. I don’t think I could have achieved so much had I not had Paul by my side. But you need to have a sense of personal conviction in order to go forward continuously because there is so much nonsense around. I am lucky enough to have worked in the Hollywood, Bollywood and British film industries, and have traversed three different cultures and am well versed with the problems that exist in each system too. I understand the positive and negative sides. Being aware and experienced is a huge bonus when it comes to dealing with it.

On working with Bollywood actors
Of course, I’d love to work with Bollywood again. It’s exciting to see the Hindi cinema scene coming of age. Different genres of films are being made, new scripts are being written and Indian films that are now being made will appeal to audiences all around the world. The Munnabhai series was fantastic; it was beautifully scripted with fabulous performances along with a thought-provoking message. Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi were both excellent. It has also been exciting to see the way Saif Ali Khan’s career has developed. Aamir Khan is very good at whatever he does. And Rani and Abhishek Bachchan too are talented and hard working.

On upcoming plans
It’s anything and everything that allows us to enjoy time with our children. I am not interested in travelling or going to places where I can’t take them along. My work has to be planned and worked out to fit around them. We waited so long and now they are our priority. After Angus, Thongs and full Frontal Snogging, there are seven other films in this series, so depending on the success of this one we might make a sequel. We are also working on another British comedy and we are exploring a children’s thriller.