Samir Bhamra

Samir Bhamra is an award winning[1] Kenyan born British-Indian playwright, designer, producer[2] and musical theatre director[3] at Phizzical Productions.[4] Samir works across many art forms influenced by Indian cinema. He is known for pioneering BollyIdol, a national talent search with BBC and B4U (network), writing and directing Bring on the Bollywood, Precious Bazaar[5] and directing William Shakespeare's Cymbeline[6][7][8][9]

Film and festivals

He is the Artistic Producer [10] of London Asian Film Festival organised by Tongues on Fire. As part of the 17th London Asian Film Festival, he invited Tony award nominee choreographer and Bollywood film director Farah Khan to run master classes in Choreography[11] at Southbank Centre and Directing[12] at School of Asian and Oriental Studies. In 2018, the festival started to tour UK wide and rebranded to become the UK Asian Film Festival.

Musicals

His first musical was Precious Bazaar[5][13][14] which opened in 2004 at The Y in Leicester.[15] It launched the careers of actor Jas Binag[16] and Bhopal: A Prayer of Rain actress Fagun Thakrar.[17] They were among 10 talented actors and dancers who were discovered through the BollyIdol contest he developed with BBC.[18][19][20] EastEnders actress Rakhee Thakrar played the lead role Suhani in Precious Bazaar.[21][22][23]

Precious Bazaar was nominated for a Windrush Award in 2004.[24]

Samir worked with actor, singer and songwriter Robby Khela[25] in Cymbeline and previously Jean Genet's The Maids.[26]

In 2016, he created a new musical, Bring on the Bollywood in association with Belgrade Theatre in Coventry. Bring on the Bollywood ran for 70 performances as it toured to 12 cities in 2017. Reviewer Roderic Dunnett described it as ''Phizzical easily justifies its name: it fizzes and whizzes, sizzles and bristles and teases with comedy, makes you want to laugh and sing, and tickles you with a storyline that could be a cousin of The Comedy of Errors or Twelfth Night"[27]

Theatre

In 2008, Samir directed the 1994 Pulitzer Prize nominated play A Perfect Ganesh written by Terrence McNally.[28] He developed the ideas behind the play as part of in Residence at Haymarket Theatre.[29]

Samir's interest in Shakespeare[30] stems from finding how he can make the story and themes relevant to an audience who may not understand the text. During the World Shakespeare Festival, he was seconded to the Royal Shakespeare Company from the National Theatre programme Step Change.[31] His Bollywood styled production of Cymbeline toured for 12 weeks to 22 venues in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is considered the longest theatrical tour by any British Asian theatre company.[32] The production was reviewed several times during its tour and received many positive reviews[33][34][35] and is of academic interest.

He has directed an adaptation of Layla and Majnun and Romeo and Juliet in 2006 titled Romeo + Laila written by UK based actor and playwright Omar Khan. He produced Omar Khan's adaptation of Twelfth Night[36] titled What You Fancy which was directed by Leylah.

Samir is currently researching and developing a production of William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale set in Kashmir.[37]

Dance

Samir was the first judge of the UK version of Boogie Woogie and set the judging format which was followed from 2004 to 2008.[38][39] He was a guest judge in the preliminary stages of Just Dance with Hrithik Roshan.[40][41][42][43][44] Bhamra has been judging Just Bollywood, a Bollywood dance competition organised by Imperial University for university students since 2015.

He wrote and produced the first UK theatre dance adaptation of the classic story Umrao Jaan Ada[45] written by Mirza Hadi Ruswa in December 2014.

Visual and Digital Arts

His collaboration with Hitesh Rao and Ben-Azeera Lela for singer and songwriter Navin Kundra[46] led to a new brand identity for the singer. He provided art direction and design in the digital visuals that feature in John Gihair's book Welcome to Earth.[47]

Cultural Strategy

Samir was one of many cultural leaders who developed a new cultural strategy[48] for the City of Leicester.

Awards

Samir Bhamra won the Arts and Culture Awareness award for his extensive work at the 2016 British Indian Awards in association with BDO.[49] Precious Bazaar was nominated for a Windrush Arts Award[50] in 2004. Samir received two High Commendations at the 2003[51] and 2004[38] Windrush Awards for his pioneering work in Digital, Internet and Technology.[5]

Personal life

His parents were of different religious backgrounds. He uses his mixed faith up-bringing to influence his artistic work.[52]

In 2014, Samir raised funds for Macmillan Cancer[53] in memory of his mother and grandmother by shaving his hair.

References

  1. ↑ "Samir Bhamra wins Arts & Culture Award".
  2. ↑ "About Phizzical". Phizzical. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "Why theatre is still all white on the night". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Phizzical". Farnham Maltings Association Limited. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 "Samir Bhamra talks a load of Bollywood". BBC. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "Samir Bhamra (British South Asian Theatre Memories)". FIPAarts. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  7. ↑ Theatre, A Younger. "Sponsored feature: Cymbeline, Bollywood style – comic, romantic and magical". A Younger Theatre LTDW P L O C K E R .C O M. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  8. ↑ Faruq, Aisha. "Samir Bhamra". DESIblitz. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Team, Pukaar Magazine. "Shakespeare Meets Bollywood". Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "Who we are". Tongues on Fire. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  11. ↑ "Farah Khan Choreography Masterclass". Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  12. ↑ "Women in the Media". SOAS, University of London. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  13. ↑ "Precious Bazaar". Phizzical,. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  14. ↑ "Precious Bazaar". UK Theatre Web. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  15. ↑ "Archive listings for Precious Bazaar". UK Theatre Web, UK. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  16. ↑ "BOLLYIDOL 2005". Redhotcurry Limited. 29 April 2005. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  17. ↑ "Taking link-up with Shekhar Kapur with a pinch of salt: Fagun Thakrar". Bollywood.com. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  18. ↑ Mercury, Leicester. "From Beaumont Leys to Bollywood: Actress Fagun Thakrar on her childhood in Leicester, her acting debut, and why her latest film is so important to her". Local World. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  19. ↑ "'I have loved Hrithik ever since his first movie.'". Fifth Quarter Infomedia Pvt. Ltd. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  20. ↑ "Fagun Ivy". The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  21. ↑ "PRECIOUS BAZAAR". Redhotcurry Limited. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  22. ↑ Mercury, Leicester. "From St Matthew's to the Mitchells... Leicester's Rakhee Thakrar is the new face on EastEnders". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  23. ↑ es:Rakhee Thakrar
  24. ↑ "What You Fancy". Ethnic Now. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  25. ↑ "Robby Khela". blue compass. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  26. ↑ "The Maids". David Chadderton. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  27. ↑ "Bring on the Bollywood". www.behindthearras.com. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  28. ↑ "A Perfect Ganesh". David Chadderton. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  29. ↑ "Phizzical Productions". Sustained Theatre. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  30. ↑ "Guest Contributor Varsha Panjwani writes: Shakespeare and Bollywood Conference". Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  31. ↑ "Celebrating 5 Years" (PDF). National Theatre. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  32. ↑ "Shakespeare with a Bollywood twist at the Belgrade Theatre". The Belgrade Plaza Partnership. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  33. ↑ "Cymbeline – Curve. Leicester". Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  34. ↑ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/cymbeline-the-belgrade-theatre-coventry/
  35. ↑ Blacklock, Daisy. "REVIEW: Bollywood meets Shakespeare in Cymbeline at Taunton's Tacchi-Morris". Newsquest Media (Southern) Ltd. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  36. ↑ http://metro.co.uk/2008/07/10/theatre-what-you-fancy-265367/
  37. ↑ "Looking for King Lear in Kashmir". Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  38. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 November 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  39. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  40. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=196341517061831&id=193
  41. ↑ "Arati Menon leads Imperial College to win UK's first inter-university Bollywood dance competition (VIDEOS)". UK Malayalee. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  42. ↑ http://www.ukmalayalee.com/nri-news/news.php?id=MjQzNQ==
  43. ↑ Sethi, Sonika. "Imperial College London winners of Just Bollywood". DESIblitz. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  44. ↑ http://www.desiblitz.com/content/just-bollywood-2014-inter-university-dance-competition
  45. ↑ http://www.phizzical.com/search-for-umrao-jaan-auditions/
  46. ↑ http://navin-online.com/press/uncategorized/navins-latest-artwork-exhibited-in-leicester-gallery/
  47. ↑ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Welcome-Earth-peace-author-Gihair/dp/1505732352/ref=pd_rhf_se_p_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=08PEDNZCRNQJM9Q9NP4V
  48. ↑ http://www.culturalambitionleicester.co.uk/aboutus.html
  49. ↑ http://www.pukaarnews.com/bollywood-producer-honoured-arts-culture-award/16673/
  50. ↑ http://xtrax.org.uk/directory/profile/view/phizzical
  51. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  52. ↑ http://www.theatrevoice.com/audio-tags/samir-bhamra/
  53. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
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