Asad Shan
Asad Shane in 2012
Born
Asad Shan

Occupation(s)Actor, Model, TV Presenter, Director, Producer and Real Estate Investor.
Years active2009–present
Websitehttp://www.asadshan.com

Asad Shan is a British[1] actor, fashion model, TV presenter, and producer/director. He was formerly an investment banker, having worked for RBS (ABN AMRO) and HSBC. In 2004, he was crowned Mr. Asia UK.[2] The film 7 Welcome to London was both his acting and directorial debut. It received critical and commercial acclaim after its UK release and has gone on to become the most successful British-made Hindi language film in the UK.[3]
Shan's other notable appearances include being a veejay for B4U Music,[4] and he is currently on Zee TV's Zing as a host for the weekend film show Brits Bollywood, as well as the daily rude tube show, Grinds My Teeth.[5] Shan has starred in New York Film Academy and Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute productions of the well-renowned East is East and The Glass Menagerie. He has recently endorsed campaigns for major brands like Sky Digital, HSBC, and most recently One for the Boys, a charity chaired by Samuel L. Jackson.

Early life

Asad was born in London to parents of Pakistani descent and raised in East London. His grandparents moved to London from Pakistan in the 1940s. He studied at Brentwood School in Essex. He then studied law and management at university. Asad grew up supporting Liverpool F.C. and is an avid tennis and football player.

Career

Upon graduating with a degree in law and management, he worked as an investment banker in the city of London for two years in Corporate Broking and ECM. In 2004, Asad won the Mr. Asia UK competition. Inspired by this win, he went to New York to train in method acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and in Film Performance at the New York Film Academy. he then moved from the Big Apple to Mumbai, India to begin work in Bollywood.

Within a few months after his move to Mumbai he was seen on the runways at Indian Fashion Week as well as being an ambassador for top fashion labels and eventually became one of the most sought-after veejays for B4U Music. In 2009 he was named the 'Best & Sexiest VJ' at the music channel. He fronted popular shows like "Just Request", "Star Stop", "Flash" and "India's Top Ten".

Eventually seeing an opportunity and growth in the UK market, Asad shifted his base back to London from Bombay where he started a film production company Iconic Productions UK Limited.[6] He worked on the company's debut venture, a Bollywood thriller film titled 7 Welcome to London. He played Jai in the starring role.[7] The film was set in London and had a UK-wide release on 9 March 2012.[8]

In the 2016 film London Life, he played the protagonist Raj. The English film is set in London and is about Indian students who migrate to the UK and the problems they face.[9]

Since 2011, he is UK's most popular & recognised face on Zee TV's music channel Zing as a host for Brits Bollywood and UK's first Asian Rude Tube show " Grinds My Teeth" which has gathered a huge response in the UK[10] Shan has hosted a daily request show Rock The Vibe in the past for Zing.[5]

Asad also dabbled as a creative producer for the Black Arts company in Soho London and has been the creator and host of "The Film Show" on Zing TV from 2015 to 2018, which is an Iconic production, and commissioned by Zee TV.

Asad is currently filming his first drama serial called "Aabgeenay" written by Qaisra Hayat and directed by Nadeem Siddique.

Personal life

Asad enjoys playing Sunday league football and Docklands tennis league in London. He played tennis at the UK county level. He loves outdoor sports and is a keen hiker.

Filmography

Year Film Role Production Director Notes
2005 The Waiter Raju Les Beauchistes/O2 Mobiles Nilesh Patel
2005 The Room Mate Jay New York Film Academy Ruchir Garg
2005 What If Tom New York Film Academy Chung K. Park
2006 Ya Ali Self/ Model Kunika Lal Kabir Sadanand Music Video
2008 Never Ending Story Sunny Kala Ghoda Film Festival Ranjeeta Kaur
2010 Manali Cream[11] Kal B3 Productions Navdeep Khandola
2012 7 Welcome to London Jai Iconic Productions UK Ltd.[6] Asad Shan
2017 London Life Raj Kaybee Pictures Naveen Medaram Post Production
2022 An Action Hero Imaad Yellow Colour Films / T series Anirudh Iyer Released worldwide / Netflix
2023 Tell me about it Kidnapper Pageful Productions Suman Hanif Post Production

Theatre productions

Year Play Role Production Director
2005 The Individual Ray CPS Stage London
2005 Talking With Angels Jason CPS Stage London
2005 The Glass Menagerie Jim O'Conner New York Film Academy
2005 In God We Trust Joe NYFC Lee Strafford
2005 East Is East Tariq NYFA Theatre John Stafford

Television

Year Title Role Production
2005 The Salon Self/ Mr. Asia UK Channel 4
2007 BBC Desi DNA Self BBC Asia
2008 Brits Abroad Self Current TV
2007–08 Express, Star Stop Vj Asad B4U Music
2008 GPL Self MTV India
2010–present Brits Bollywood Vj Asad Zing (TV channel)
2013–present Grinds My Teeth Vj Asad Zing (TV channel)
2015–present Zing JukeBox Vj Asad Zing (TV channel)
2018 Aabgeenay Shahzad GEO TV (TV channel)

Commercials

Year Advertisement Role Production
2006 Fair & Lovely Men's Active Model Fair & Lovely
2006 Ayurveda Body Butter Cream Model Ayurveda
2007 Škoda Octavia Model Škoda Octavia
2007 Hero Honda Model Hero Honda
2010 LG F1 Man Th2ng, Nick Meikle
2010 William Hill Silent Terrace Man The Bank Film Company, Ian Cassie
2012–present Sky (UK and Ireland) Model Sky (UK and Ireland)

Modelling

Year Designer/Show Notes
2005–06 London Fashion Week Ramp Model
2006-08 Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Ramp Model
2006-08 Lakme India Fashion Week Ramp Model
2007-08 Options Brand Ambassador
2007–08 Boy London Brand Ambassador
2007 Matrix Hair Model Fashion Show Model
2008 Indian Contemporary & Classic Couture Model
2008 Roberto Cavalli Model
2008 Kiran Gidwani Model

See also

References

  1. Irfan ul Haq (14 January 2016), "British-Pakistani actor Asad Shan stars in Indian film London Life", Dawn News. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  2. "Miss & Mr Asia 2003". missasia.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  3. "'7 Welcome To London' becomes most successful British Hindi film ever". Digital Spy. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  4. "B4U adds Asad Shan & Khushboo to VJ troupe". Radioandmusic.com. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Zing doubles up 'Grinds My Teeth' on demand". media247.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Home". iconicproductionsuk.com. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  7. "Model Asad Shan rocks "7 Welcome to London" – UrbanAsian". UrbanAsian. 25 January 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  8. "Bollywood Fraternity Show Their Support for 7 Welcome to London | Welcome to Close-Up Film | Film Reviews, Film News, Film Interviews". Archived from the original on 9 April 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  9. just host. "Welcome londonlifefilm.com - Justhost.com". londonlifefilm.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  10. "BizAsia.co.uk - the UK's only Asian media news website - News, Features, Interviews, Jobs, Events, Ratings, Bollywood". Archived from the original on 18 December 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  11. http://aodl.mirocommunity.org/video/195/manali-cream-clip%5B%5D
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