Sanjeev Bhaskar | |
---|---|
![]() Bhaskar in 2015 | |
Born | [1] | 31 October 1963
Education | University of Hertfordshire |
Occupation(s) | Actor, comedian, television presenter |
Years active | 1991–present |
Notable work | See below |
Spouse | |
Children | 1 |
Sanjeev Bhaskar OBE (born 31 October 1963) is an English actor, comedian and television presenter. He is best known for his work in the BBC Two sketch comedy series Goodness Gracious Me and as the star of the sitcom The Kumars at No. 42 . He also presented and starred in a documentary series called India with Sanjeev Bhaskar in which he travelled to India and visited his ancestral home in today's Pakistan. Bhaskar's more dramatic acting roles include the lead role of Dr Prem Sharma in The Indian Doctor and a main role as DI Sunny Khan in Unforgotten . Bhaskar has been the Chancellor of the University of Sussex since 2009.
In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. [2] In 2006, Bhaskar was appointed an OBE.
Bhaskar was born on 31 October 1963 in Ealing, London to Inderjit and Janak Bhaskar, who came to the UK after the partition of India, and grew up living above the family launderette [3] [4] in Heston, Hounslow, Middlesex. [5] He was raised in Hinduism. [6]
He earned a degree in marketing from Hatfield Polytechnic before landing a job as a marketing executive at IBM. [7]
Bhaskar soon realised that he preferred comedy to marketing and joined forces with an old college friend, Nitin Sawhney, to start a musical comedy double act called "The Secret Asians" [8] which they first performed in 1996 at the now-defunct Tom Allen Arts Centre in East London. This performance was featured on a BBC magazine show called Reportage. They performed extensively also at the Watermans Arts Centre with numerous other acts at a regular Asian comedy night called "One Nation Under a Groove...Innit". Their real break came when they were performing a show at the Oval House in South London where, after a strong review in Time Out magazine by journalist and playwright Bonnie Greer, they were approached by Anil Gupta, the producer of what was to become the BBC sketch series Goodness Gracious Me.
Bhaskar has starred in a number of British-produced films including The Guru , Notting Hill (very briefly), and Anita and Me . He also had a cameo as a shop owner in Yash Raj Films' production Jhoom Barabar Jhoom . He had a major role in the 2019 film, Yesterday , in which he and his wife Meera Syal played a married couple.
Bhaskar, the Kumars and Gareth Gates collectively released the official single for Comic Relief in 2003, "Spirit in the Sky", which spent three weeks at the top of the UK Singles chart and was the second highest selling single of the year. In 2008 Bhaskar made his musical theatre debut as King Arthur in Spamalot at London's Palace Theatre. In October 2008 he was featured on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs .
He appeared as a guest on the BBC's Top Gear in 2003, setting a time of 1:51.0 around a wet Top Gear test track in a Suzuki Liana, placing him 32nd on the original leader board. In March 2010 he featured on the BBC Radio 4 comedy show I've Never Seen Star Wars . On 23 July 2010 he was guest on the BBC comedy panel game Would I Lie To You?
As part of the BBC's series of programmes on the 60th anniversary of the independence of India and Pakistan, he filmed a BBC documentary series India with Sanjeev Bhaskar with director Deep Sehgal which was broadcast in August 2007. [9] According to the BBC it included "an emotional journey" to his father's ancestral home which is now in Pakistan. His first book India with Sanjeev Bhaskar , based on the documentary series, became a Sunday Times bestseller in 2007. He also featured in a Channel 4 documentary series called The House That Made Me. This show, produced by Nutopia in 2010, recreated his childhood home and introduced him to the characters of his youth.
He wrote and starred in the ITV sitcom Mumbai Calling [10] and the UK tour of the hit American improv show Totally Looped. [11]
On 31 October 2014, Bhaskar hosted Kermode and Mayo's Film Review , standing in for Simon Mayo on the BBC's flagship film show. He also played the lead character in the online animation Rajesh Finesse in 2014. [12]
In 2005, Bhaskar was awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the New Year Honours List. On 23 February 2009 he was appointed chancellor of the University of Sussex, and he was formally installed at the university's summer graduation ceremony on 22 July 2009. [13] On 26 July 2019 Bhaskar was awarded an honorary doctorate by the university in recognition of his ten years in post as chancellor.
In April 2015, he was given the Outstanding Achievement in Television award at The Asian Awards. [14]
In January 2021, Bhaskar was cast in the Netflix adaptation of The Sandman . [15]
In 2022, Bhaskar appeared in the title role in a television series based on the Inspector Singh novels. [16]
In January 2005, Bhaskar married comedian Meera Syal in Lichfield, Staffordshire. [17] [18] They have a son, Shaan, who was born at the Portland Hospital on 2 December 2005.
In February 2009, Bhaskar and other entertainers wrote an open letter to The Times protesting against the trial of leaders of the Baháʼí Faith then being held in Iran. [19] He is a Liverpool Football Club supporter. [20]
Before the 2010 general election Bhaskar was one of 48 celebrities who signed a letter warning against Conservative Party policy towards the BBC. [21]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | Zoo Rush 2: Destination New York | Ravi the Indian cobra (voice) | |
1998 | The Dance of Shiva | Sergeant Bakshi | Short Film |
1999 | Notting Hill | Loud Man in Restaurant | |
2001 | The Mystic Masseur | Beharry | |
Inferno | Jaz | Short Film | |
2002 | Anita and Me | Mr Kumar | |
The Guru | Rasphal the Cook | ||
2006 | Scoop | Poker Players | Credited as Sanjeev Bhasker |
2007 | Jhoom Barabar Jhoom | Shopkeeper | |
2010 | It's a Wonderful Afterlife | Mr Bhatti the Curry Man | |
Not the Messiah: He's a Very Naughty Boy | Mountie | ||
Jackboots on Whitehall | Rupee/Old Gil/King | Voice Only | |
London Boulevard | Sanji Raju | ||
2011 | The Itch of the Golden Nit | Ten Heart Hero (voice) | Short film |
Arthur Christmas | Lead Elf | Voice Only | |
Lazy Uncle | Dad | Short film | |
2013 | The Zero Theorem | Doctor 1 | |
2015 | Absolutely Anything | Ray | |
2016 | Thunderbirds 1965 | Himself | Short Film Documentary |
2017 | And The Winner Isn't | Himself | Documentary film |
Paddington 2 | Dr Jafri | ||
2019 | Yesterday | Jed Malik | |
Horrible Histories: The Movie - Rotten Romans | Mr. Felix | ||
2020 | Dragon Rider | Mad Doc | Voice role |
2023 | The Flash | David Singh | [22] |
† | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1991 | The Real McCoy | Various Roles | Unknown episodes |
1995 | Porkpie | Sanjay | Episode: "And Lead us not into Temptation" |
1996 | Bollywood or Bust | Himself (Host) | |
1997 | Captain Butler | Adeel | 6 episodes |
We Know Where You Live | Various Characters | 12 episodes | |
1998 | Jonathan Creek | Doctor | Episode: "Black Canary" |
Light Lunch | Himself | Episode: "Goodness Gracious What a Great Show" | |
Keeping Mum | Ahmed | Episodes: "The Card Game" and "The Morning After" | |
1998–2015 | Goodness Gracious Me | Various | 21 episodes |
1999–2001 | Small Potatoes | Rick Roy | 13 episodes |
2001 | We Know Where You Live | Television film | |
2001–2006 | The Kumars at No. 42 | Sanjeev Kumar | Lead role 53 episodes |
2002 | Dalziel and Pascoe | Graham Shah | Episode: "Mens Sana" |
2005 | Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee | Akaash | 3 episodes |
Chopratown | Vik Chopra | Television film | |
Angell's Hell | John Angell | Television film | |
2005–2008 | The New Paul O'Grady Show | Himself | 2 episodes |
2006 | The Children's Party at the Palace | Robin Hood | Television special |
2007–2008 | Mumbai Calling | Kenny Gupta | 8 episodes |
2009 | Natural World | Narrator | Documentary series Episode: "Man-eating Tigers of the Sundarbans" |
2010 | Grandpa In My Pocket | Rodger Splodger | Episode: "Great Aunt Loretta's Not-So-Great Plan" |
2010–2013 | The Indian Doctor | Prem Sharma | 15 episodes |
2012 | Silent Witness | Abdul Aziz | Episode: "And Then I Fell in Love" |
2014 | Midsomer Murders | Armand Stone | Episode: "The Killings of Copenhagen" |
The Kumars | Sanjeev Kumar | 6 episodes | |
Doctor Who | Colonel Ahmed | Episode: "Death in Heaven" | |
2015 | Drunk History | Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell | Episode 1.8 |
Bollywood and Beyond: A Century of Indian Cinema | Himself (presenter) | Television film Documentary | |
Horrible Histories | Various characters | Episode: "Naughty Napoleon Special", "Gorgeous George III", "Tricky Queen Vicky", "Wily Winston Churchill" | |
2015–present | Unforgotten | DI Sunil "Sunny" Khan | |
2016 | Thunderbirds Are Go | Ethan Sullivan (voice) | Episode: "City Under the Sea" |
2017 | Horrible Histories | Singing Greek God | Episode: "Monstrous Musicians" |
2017–2019 | Porters | Mr Pradeep | 7 episodes |
2018–2020 | Thomas & Friends | Shankar (voice) | UK & US versions |
2019 | Icons: The Greatest Person of the 20th Century | Category presenter ("Advocate") | 2 episodes, activists category and live final |
Red Nose Bodyguard | Interviewer | Red Nose Day 2019 special | |
Good Omens | Giles Baddicombe | Episode: "The Very Last Day of the Rest of Their Lives" | |
The Switch | Host | 20 episodes | |
2020–present | Sandylands | Les Vegas | Television miniseries |
2021–present | Secrets of the Transport Museum | Narrator | Documentary series [23] |
2022 | The Sandman | Cain | Episode: "Imperfect Hosts" |
TBA | Inspector Singh Investigates | Inspector Singh | [24] |
Sir Lenworth George Henry is a British comedian, actor and writer. He gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in The Lenny Henry Show in 1984. He was the most prominent black British comedian of the time and much of his material served to celebrate and parody his African-Caribbean roots.
The Kumars at No. 42 is a British television show. It won an International Emmy in 2002 and 2003, and won a Peabody Award in 2004. It ran for seven series totalling 53 episodes.
Goodness Gracious Me is a BBC sketch comedy show originally aired on BBC Radio 4 from 1996 to 1998 and later on BBC Two from 1998 to 2001. The ensemble cast were four British Indian actors, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Kulvinder Ghir, Meera Syal and Nina Wadia. The show explored British Asian culture, and the conflict and integration between traditional Indian culture and modern British life. Some sketches reversed the roles to view the British from an Indian perspective, and others poked fun at Indian and Asian stereotypes. In the television series, most of the white characters were played by Dave Lamb and Fiona Allen; in the radio series those parts were played by the cast themselves. Some of the white characters were also played by Amanda Holden and Emma Kennedy.
Meera Syal FRSL is an English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created Goodness Gracious Me and by portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, Ummi, in The Kumars at No. 42. She has become one of the UK's best-known Asian personalities.
Nina Wadia is an English actress and comedian. She is known for portraying Zainab Masood in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, Aunty Noor in Citizen Khan, Mrs Hussein in the BBC comedy Still Open All Hours and for starring in the BBC Two sketch show Goodness Gracious Me.
Fiona Allen is an English comedian and actress, most known for her work on Channel 4's Smack the Pony between 1999 and 2003.
Kulvinder Ghir is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is best known as one of the cast members in the sketch show Goodness Gracious Me (1998–2015). He is also known for playing Aslam in the Yorkshire-based film Rita, Sue and Bob Too! (1987), and Poly Verisof in Foundation.
Nitin Sawhney is a British musician, producer and composer. A recipient of the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award in 2017, among multiple international awards throughout his career. Sawhney's work combines Asian and other worldwide influences with elements of electronica and often explores themes such as multiculturalism, politics, and spirituality. Sawhney is also active in the promotion of arts and cultural matters, is chair of the PRS Foundation, sits on the board of trustees of theatre company Complicité, and is a patron of numerous film festivals, venues, and educational institutions. In 2021, he was an ambassador for the Royal Albert Hall.
Shaggy Dog Story is a three-minute promotional trailer for Children in Need, put together by the BBC and Gorgeous Productions in 1999 as a sequel to the previous year's Future Generations video, and the great success of 1997's "Perfect Day" charity single. It was first shown on Christmas Day 1999. A slightly extended alternative version was created but never aired.
Alexander James Jeffery Horne is a British comedian. Horne is the creator of BAFTA award-winning TV series Taskmaster, in which he takes the role of assistant to the Taskmaster Greg Davies. He is the host and bandleader of comedic band The Horne Section. Horne hosts the band's eponymous podcast and television series, and has appeared with them on BBC Radio 4, TV channel Dave, and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
Andrew Zaltzman is a British comedian who largely deals in political and sport-related material.
Jhoom Barabar Jhoom is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic comedy directed by Shaad Ali and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films. Based on a story by Ali and a screenplay by Habib Faisal, the film stars Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Bobby Deol and Lara Dutta in lead roles, with Amitabh Bachchan in a special appearance.
Sanjeev Singh Kohli is a Scottish actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his role as shopkeeper Navid Harrid in the BBC sitcom Still Game, Ramesh Majhu in the radio sitcom Fags, Mags and Bags (2007–present), and A.J. Jandhu in the BBC Scotland soap opera River City (2015–2022). Since 2019, Kohli has hosted his own television talk show Sanjeev Kohli's Big Talk, on the BBC Scotland channel.
Anita and Me is a 2002 British comedy-drama film directed by Metin Hüseyin and starring Chandeep Uppal, Kabir Bedi, and Anna Brewster. It is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Meera Syal. It was released during a period of popularity for British Asian films, alongside such as East Is East and Bend It Like Beckham.
Nitin Chandra Ganatra is a Kenyan-born British actor. He is known for portraying Masood Ahmed in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders (2007–2019), for which he won a British Soap Award.
Adil Ray is a British actor, comedian and radio/television presenter. Ray stars in the BBC One comedy Citizen Khan, which he created and co-writes, as well as presenting on various BBC radio stations. He is also a presenter on ITV's Good Morning Britain, and has played the role of Sadiq Nawaz in the Channel 4 drama series Ackley Bridge. In 2021 he presented the revival of the British game show Lingo.
David Alexander Lamb is an English actor, comedian, narrator and presenter. He is best known for his narration work on Come Dine with Me as well as appearances in British television and radio programmes, especially comedy programmes like Goodness Gracious Me. He also presented the CBBC game show Horrible Histories: Gory Games.
Sharat Sardana was a British comedy writer, voice artist and producer who worked on TV series including Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No. 42, which won 2 International Emmys.
Nishant Kumar is a British stand-up comedian, television presenter, and podcast host. He became known as the host of satirical comedy The Mash Report, now known as Late Night Mash. He has also presented BBC Radio 4 Extra's topical comedy show Newsjack, the Comedy Central series Joel & Nish vs The World, the BBC Radio 4 programme The News Quiz and Hello America on Quibi. Since May 2023, he has been the co-host of the political podcast Pod Save the UK.
This is a list of scripted British television programmes featuring one or more actors of Asian ancestry as the programme's leading actor portraying the protagonist or protagonists.