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Samir Bhamra

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Samir Bhamra is a British artist, playwright, costume designer, producer and musical theatre director[1] at Phizzical Productions.[2]

Bhamra graduated from Loughborough University with a BSc. in Mathematics and Computation.[3]

Bhamra is the Creative Director of the UK Asian Film Festival.[4]

His writing and directing credits include Bombay Superstar,[5] Precious Bazaar[6] and an academically acclaimed production of William Shakespeare's Cymbeline.[7][8][9][10] He was the 2021 Senior Producer at Belgrade Theatre Coventry producing the theatre's UK City of Culture 2021 programme.

He is the Creative Director of the UK Asian Film Festival.[4]

Musicals

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In 2022, Bhamra wrote, designed and produced his dream production Bombay Superstar [11] co-produced with the Belgrade Theatre Coventry and The New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich with musical director Hinal Pattani and musicians The 515 Crew. The cast included Nisha Aaliya, Pia Sutaria, Sheetal Pandya, Amar, Chirag Rao, Yanick Ghanty, Robby Khela, Rav Moore, Daisy Hardy, Alexandra Adams, Aaron Mistry and Pavan Maru.

In 2019, he directed Stardust[12] at Belgrade Theatre in Coventry based on songs by Robby Khela, composed by Devesh Sodha with a book co-written with hard-of-hearing writer Shahid Iqbal Khan. Stardust is a finalist for the 2020 Asian Media Awards Best Stage Production award. Samir worked with actor, singer and songwriter Robby Khela[13] in Bring on the Bollywood, Cymbeline and previously Jean Genet's The Maids.[14]

His first musical was Precious Bazaar which opened in 2004 at The Y in Leicester,[6][15] [16] which featured 10 performers who took part in a BollyIdol contest he developed with BBC and B4U.[17][18][19] EastEnders actress Rakhee Thakrar played the lead role Suhani in Precious Bazaar.[20][21] Precious Bazaar was nominated for a Windrush Award in 2004.[22]

Theatre

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During the World Shakespeare Festival, he was seconded to the Royal Shakespeare Company from the National Theatre programme Step Change.[23] His Bollywood styled production of Cymbeline toured for 12 weeks to 22 venues in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and was the longest theatrical tour by any British Asian theatre company.[24] The production received generally positive reviews.[25][26]

Bhamra has directed an adaptation of Layla and Majnun and Romeo and Juliet in 2006 titled Romeo + Laila, and produced Omar Khan's adaptation of Twelfth Night[27] titled What You Fancy which was directed by Leylah. 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 is currently researching and developing a production of William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale set in Kashmir.[30]

Dance

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Samir was the first judge of the UK version of Boogie Woogie and set the judging format which was followed from 2004 to 2008.[31][32] Bhamra was a guest judge in the preliminary stages of Just Dance with Hrithik Roshan.[33][34][35][36][37] Bhamra has been judging Just Bollywood, a Bollywood dance competition organised by Imperial University for students from all UK wide universities since 2015. He is a mentor to young adults to nurture their personal best.

Bhamra produced Subhash Viman's triple bill contemporary dance work Gamechanger, featuring Morphed, Fly From and Three. In 2018, he produced BBC Young Dancer finalist Anaya Vasudha's EKA which premiered at The Place.[38]


Cultural Strategy

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Samir was one of many cultural leaders who developed a new cultural strategy for Leicester. [39] for the City of Leicester.

Awards

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Samir Bhamra was one of the winners of the Olwen Wymark award from the Writers Guild of Great Britain in 2021.[40] He won several global awards for costume design and directing his first short musical film Mad About The Boy, screened in Shanghai, Manila, Toronto, Cannes, and at the Queen Palm International Film Festival in California.[41] He won the Arts and Culture Awareness award for his extensive work at the 2016 British Indian Awards in association with BDO.[42] Precious Bazaar was nominated for a Windrush Arts Award[43] in 2004. Samir received two High Commendations at the 2003[44] and 2004[31] Windrush Awards for his pioneering work in Digital, Internet and Technology.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Why theatre is still all white on the night". independent.co.uk. 8 March 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Phizzical". Farnham Maltings Association Limited. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  3. ^ Shobowale, Sali (9 September 2023). "Filmmaker's happy ending becoming BAFTA member". Leicestershire Live.
  4. ^ a b "Indian-American-Belgian actor's 'Minimum' to open UK Asian Film Festival in London". Daily Excelsior. 14 April 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/indian-american-belgian-actors-minimum-to-open-uk-asian-film-festival-in-london/
  5. ^ Le Mesurier, Nick (21 October 2022). "Review: Bombay Superstar is a dazzling night of Bollywood adventure on Coventry stage". Warwickshire World. Retrieved 24 June 2024.https://www.warwickshireworld.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/review-bombay-superstar-is-a-dazzling-night-of-bollywood-adventure-on-coventry-stage-3888959
  6. ^ a b c "Samir Bhamra talks a load of Bollywood". BBC. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  7. ^ "Samir Bhamra (British South Asian Theatre Memories)". FIPAarts. 8 April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  8. ^ "Sponsored feature: Cymbeline, Bollywood style – comic, romantic and magical". A Younger Theatre. November 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  9. ^ Faruq, Aisha. "Samir Bhamra". DESIblitz. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  10. ^ "Shakespeare Meets Bollywood". Pukaar Magazine. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  11. ^ "Bombay Superstar". 21 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Stardust". Belgrade Theatre. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  13. ^ "Robby Khela". blue compass. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  14. ^ "The Maids". David Chadderton. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  15. ^ "Precious Bazaar". UK Theatre Web. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  16. ^ "Archive listings for Precious Bazaar". UK Theatre Web, UK. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ "'I have loved Hrithik ever since his first movie.'". Fifth Quarter Infomedia Pvt. Ltd. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  19. ^ "Fagun Ivy". The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  20. ^ "Precious Bazaar". Redhotcurry Limited. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ "What You Fancy". Ethnic Now. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  23. ^ "Celebrating 5 Years" (PDF). National Theatre. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  24. ^ "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.
  25. ^ "Cymbeline – Curve. Leicester". Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  26. ^ Blacklock, Daisy (4 October 2013). "Review: Bollywood meets Shakespeare in Cymbeline at Taunton's Tacchi-Morris". Newsquest Media (Southern) Ltd. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  27. ^ "Theatre: What You Fancy". 10 July 2008.
  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. ^ "Looking for King Lear in Kashmir". 22 August 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  31. ^ a b "Redhotcurry - Profiles. Samir Bhamra". Archived from the original on 4 November 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  32. ^ "Membership list - sustained theatre". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  33. ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com.
  34. ^ "Arati Menon leads Imperial College to win UK's first inter-university Bollywood dance competition (Videos)". UK Malayalee. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  35. ^ "NRI News - Arati Menon leads Imperial College to win UK's first inter-university Bollywood dance competition (Videos)". www.ukmalayalee.com. Archived from the original on 17 January 2015.
  36. ^ Sethi, Sonika (27 December 2014). "Imperial College London winners of Just Bollywood". DESIblitz. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  37. ^ "Just Bollywood 2014 ~ Inter-University Dance Competition". 9 December 2014.
  38. ^ "Satoko Fukuda/ Anaya Vasudha/Definitives Dance Company | The Place". www.theplace.org.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  39. ^ "Cultural Ambition Leicester - About Us". www.culturalambitionleicester.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 September 2013.
  40. ^ "Simon Stephens and Jo Clifford among Olwen Wymark Awards winners". The Stage.
  41. ^ "April 2019 Main- Honorable Mentions | Queen Palm International Film Festival". Queen Palm Film Fest. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  42. ^ "Leicester Artistic Director Honoured Arts & Culture Award – Pukaar News". 25 July 2016.
  43. ^ "Phizzical".
  44. ^ "Redhotcurry - News. Windrush Awards 2003 - Winners". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
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