Voices, Stories and Cinema Reimagined

Chardikala Studios is an independent film production house based in the UK, founded by Shabad Kour, who was born and brought up in the United Kingdom. Built with a love for storytelling and cinema that carries meaning, the studio was created to tell stories that connect people across cultures, generations, and experiences.

At Chardikala Studios, we believe films have the power to make people feel seen, understood, and connected. Our work is inspired by real emotions, lived experiences, untold histories, and the everyday struggles and strength of communities. Through cinema, we aim to start conversations, preserve memories, and bring forward stories that deserve to be heard.

Our vision is to create films that stay with people long after the screen fades to black — stories that are honest, emotionally grounded, and deeply human. While our roots are connected to Punjabi heritage and identity, our storytelling speaks to audiences everywhere through themes of resilience, belonging, love, loss, and hope.

We collaborate with artists, creators, and communities from different backgrounds who share the same passion for meaningful cinema. Whether it is a deeply personal story or a larger social narrative, every project we create is driven by authenticity, creativity, and purpose.

At its heart, Chardikala Studios is about telling stories that matter - cinema that not only entertains, but also connects, reflects, and inspires.

Our Team

Shabad Kour is a UK-born filmmaker, creative producer, and founder of Chardikala Studios, an independent film production house committed to meaningful and socially driven storytelling. Raised in the United Kingdom with strong roots in Punjabi culture and community, her creative vision is shaped by a deep interest in people, identity, relationships, and the untold experiences that often remain unheard.

Through years of engaging with individuals and families from diverse ethnic backgrounds, Shabad Kour developed a passion for stories that reflect real emotions, social realities, and the complexities of modern life. This passion eventually led her towards filmmaking - using cinema as a way to create connection, start conversations, and bring overlooked narratives to the screen.

Driven by this vision, she founded Chardikala Studios with the aim of producing cinema that blends emotional depth with authentic storytelling. Her work explores themes of belonging, isolation, mental and emotional struggles, migration, relationships, identity, and cultural experience - while remaining relatable to audiences across communities and borders.

Her early projects include the short films Coffee Ground and Tu Te Main. 

Coffee Ground was a collaboration between British and Punjabi artists and communities, exploring themes of loneliness, emotional isolation, and the human need for companionship. 

Tu Te Main focused on the journey of a young married couple navigating life in the United Kingdom - where the husband is an international student who migrated from India, while the wife is born and brought up in the UK. The film explores how the pressures and realities of modern UK life create emotional conflict within their relationship, and how they attempt to find understanding and balance together.

In January 2026, Chardikala Studios completed production of its first Punjabi feature film, PEED, in collaboration with Panjjkhaab Studios. Written and directed by Amanmeet Singh (Amandeep Singh Sahota), the film explores the pain, trauma, and emotional struggles experienced by Punjabi people during the early 1990s. The project reflects the studio’s commitment to creating cinema that is emotionally powerful, culturally rooted, and socially meaningful.

With several projects lined up for release this year, Chardikala Studios is continuing to expand its creative journey through independent cinema. Alongside festival submissions, the team is also looking forward to bringing PEED to wider theatrical audiences in the future.

At its core, Chardikala Studios believes in creating films that stay with people - stories that are honest, human, and emotionally real. Through meaningful storytelling and cross-cultural collaboration, the studio aims to contribute a fresh and thoughtful voice to contemporary Punjabi and international cinema.