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.
Kulvinder Ghir | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, comedian, writer |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Spouse | Blandine Martin |
| Children | 2 |
Early life
editGhir was born in Nairobi, Kenya to Indian Punjabi parents of Sikh heritage.[1] Ghir grew up in the Chapeltown suburb of Leeds, England.[2] Ghir first began performing on stage at 13, going on to play comedy clubs between 15 and 17,[3] thereafter enrolling in a London drama school.[4]
Career
editGhir made his first television appearance as a teenager in 1981 on the Yorkshire Television programme The Extraordinary People Show. At the time, he was looking at going into animation, and was one of three teenagers chosen to question Gerry Anderson about his techniques, and for general advice.
His next TV appearance was in 1985, in the recurring role of Davy Malik in the BBC drama Howards' Way.[5] His breakthrough role came in 1987,[2] in the controversial British film Rita, Sue and Bob Too!. Since then, he has worked extensively in film, television and theatre.
He is best known as being one of four regular cast members in the BBC sketch comedy Goodness Gracious Me, in both its radio and TV incarnation. Amongst the many characters Ghir played were "Chunky Lafunga", a sexy Bollywood "hero", the superhero Bhangra Man, and as one half of the "Bhangramuffins" duo (alongside series co-writer Sanjeev Bhaskar).
He is also known for providing the voice of Ajay Bains in Postman Pat.
His play Dusky Warriors premiered at the Theatre Royal, Stratford, London, in 1995.
He also lent his voice to a few animated series aside from Postman Pat, including Chop Socky Chooks and the 2015 reboot of Bob the Builder.
In 2009, he was in the film 31 North 62 East as Tariq.
From September 2009 to May 2011, Ghir was part of the cast of BBC Three comedy series Lunch Monkeys, playing Mohammed Khan, father of Abdullah Afzal's character.[6] The show lasted two series.
In 2013, he appeared as one of the feuding brothers in the UK film, Jadoo.[7] He also appeared in the final episode of British sitcom Big School, as Mr. Rupesh the school bus driver.[8] He also hosted the 2013 Brit Asia TV Music Awards.[9] Since 2013, he has played Cyril in Still Open All Hours.
In 2019, he played the protagonist's father in Blinded by the Light.
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Rita, Sue and Bob Too | Aslam | |
| 1993 | It's Your Choice: Interviewee Preparation | Interviewee #3 | Short film; Direct-to-video |
| Meetings Bloody Meetings | Short film | ||
| 1995 | Brothers in Trouble | Agent | |
| 2002 | Bend It Like Beckham | Teetu | |
| Tomorrow La Scala! | Rajiv | ||
| 2003 | Ice Cream Dream | Dad | Short film |
| 2004 | Lighthouse Hill | Raymonburr | |
| Dead Cool | Doctor | ||
| 2006 | Halal Harry | Ghoni | |
| Nina's Heavenly Delights | TV Presenter | ||
| Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj | Taj's Father | ||
| 2007 | Send in the Clowns | Dr. Homayon | Short film |
| 2008 | Ealing Comedy | Alfie Singh | |
| A Distant Mirage | Katar Singh | ||
| 2009 | 31 North 62 East | Tariq Malim | |
| Peter Kay's Animated All-Star Band | Ajay (voice) | Short film; direct-to-video | |
| King Jeff | Mr. Zaheer | Short film | |
| 2010 | The Arbor | Rafee | Documentary film |
| 2011 | Up There | Ali | |
| Mumbai Charlie | The Doctor | Short film | |
| 2019 | The Queen's Corgi | Sanjay (voice) | UK version |
| Blinded by the Light | Malik |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | The Extraordinary People Show | Self/Participant | Questioned Gerry Anderson about his techniques |
| 1985 | Tucker's Luck | Sumil | Episodes: "Bookends/Vanished" and "Phased Out & Washed Up" |
| 1985–1986 | Howards' Way | Davy Malik | 18 episodes |
| 1988 | Screen Two | Sunil | Episode: "Lucky Sunil" |
| 1990 | Casualty | Jeevan | Episode: "Remembrance" |
| 1991 | Waterfront Beat | PC Ashir Malek | 4 episodes |
| G.B.H. | Ravi | Television miniseries Episodes: "Message Received" and "Over and Out" | |
| Crimewatch File | Idris Ali | Episode: "A Party to Murder" | |
| 1992 | Northern Crescent | Television movie | |
| Crime Story | Nizam Hosein | Episode: "Gone Too Far: The Mystery of Mrs. Muriel McKay" | |
| 1998–2015 | Goodness Gracious Me | Various roles | 21 episodes |
| 2000 | At Home with the Braithwaites | Manjit Mathura | 2 episodes |
| 2000 | The Strangerers | Keith | Episode: "Angels" |
| 2000–2002 | Holby City | Anil Banerjee | 10 episodes |
| 2004–2017 | Postman Pat | Multiple characters | 158 episodes |
| 2007–2008 | Chop Socky Chooks | Additional Voices | 17 episodes |
| 2008–2011 | Lunch Monkeys | Mohammed Khan | 3 episodes |
| 2011 | Psychoville | Mr. Kakkar | Episode: "Hancock" |
| Comedy Lab | Latte aka The Daddy | Episode: "Kabadasses" | |
| 2013–2019 | Still Open All Hours | Cyril | Series Regular |
| 2015–2017 | Bob the Builder | Anish Bose (voice) | 6 episodes; UK and US versions |
| 2018–2020 | Thomas & Friends | Various Indian Voices (voice) | UK and US versions |
| 2019 | Delicious | Mohan | Episode: "Do What Feels Right" |
| Beecham House | Mool Chand | 6 episodes | |
| Lala's Ladiez | Lala | Unknown episodes | |
| 2020 | Black Narcissus | General Toda Rai | 2 episodes |
| Hilda | Additional voices (voice) | 13 episodes | |
| 2023 | Foundation | Poly Verisof | 8 episodes |
| TBA | Virdee | Ranjit Virdee | Upcoming six-part thriller[10] |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Emb Hashmi (11 December 2012). "Kulvinder Ghir on drug abuse, life and films". Asian World. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- ^ a b "Kulvinder Ghir: From Rita, Sue to the rivalry of Jadoo". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- ^ "Beds, Herts and Bucks Theatre - Midnight's Children - Interview with Kulvinder Ghir". BBC. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- ^ "Kulvinder Ghir: from Goodness Gracious... to Shakespeare..." What's On. August 2012. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- ^ "BFI Screenonline: Ghir, Kulvinder Biography". Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- ^ "Press Office - Lunch Monkeys starts shooting second series". BBC. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
- ^ "Jadoo, review". The Telegraph. London. 5 September 2013.
- ^ "Episode 6, Series 1, Big School - BBC One". BBC. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- ^ Farooq, Aisha (14 October 2013). "Brit Asia Music Awards 2013 Winners". DESIblitz. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ "BBC announces casting for new crime thriller Virdee". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. 29 February 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.