Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ voice arriving on a reimagined, Hindi-tinged “Last Christmas” lands like a cultural wedge: familiar melody, unfamiliar accent, and a storm of opinion in its wake.
What might have been a modest soundtrack contribution has become a test case for how global pop standards are changed, claimed, and critiqued, partly because the song belongs to an era and artist many treat as sacred, and partly because the remake is stitched to Gurinder Chadha’s overtly diasporic holiday film Christmas Karma, due in the UK, Ireland, and the US on November 14, and in India on December 12.
Chadha framed the collaboration on Instagram, writing, “This is @priyankachopra for you. One call to support the movie and she was in. Always ready to support filmmakers from our community. Using her platform and her voice (in this case even the singing one) in support of my vision. Thank you for supporting me always Pri. And so here it is… our reimagined version of @georgemofficial #LastChristmas classic with all the playfulness I hope #georgemichael would have loved.”
The clip quickly went viral, marking Priyanka’s musical comeback after years away from the mic. On X (formerly Twitter), reactions were divided, some listeners calling it a fresh, joyful experiment, others insisting that George Michael’s original should have been left untouched. One user hilariously commented, "I'll consider this as AI just to keep my sanity in peace."
Another wrote, "Lol are you kidding me!!?? What is this tune dhoka kiya, kiya jeena mushkil"
A third user on Instagram however appreciated the song. They wrote, "Oh wow she sounds amazing can't wait to watch it."
Christmas Karma reimagines Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol for a modern audience. It follows Kunal Nayyar as Mr. Sood, a present-day Scrooge guided by three Ghosts of Christmas—played by Eva Longoria, Billy Porter, and Boy George, on a journey of reckoning and redemption. The cast also features Leo Suter, Pixie Lott, Charithra Chandran, Danny Dyer, and Hugh Bonneville.
Musically, the film blends gospel, bhangra, rap, and pop, creating a lively mix that mirrors its multicultural spirit. The soundtrack includes performances from Gary Barlow, Shaznay Lewis, Billy Porter, Boy George, Malkit Singh, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, with production credits shared by Nitin Sawhney, Ben Cullum, Panjabi MC, and Hilmi Jaidin.
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