Asim Chaudhry is a British comedian, writer, director and actor best known for playing Chabuddy G in the BBC
mockumentary
A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary.
These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...
series ''
People Just Do Nothing
''People Just Do Nothing'' is a British television mockumentary sitcom, created and performed by Allan Mustafa, Steve Stamp, Asim Chaudhry and Hugo Chegwin.
The programme follows the lives of MC Grindah, DJ Beats and their friends, who run K ...
'', which he co-created. For this role, he won a
Royal Television Society Award
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
and was nominated for two
British Academy Television Awards
The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955.
Background
The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...
.
In 2015 and 2016, Chaudhry starred in the mockumentary ''
Hoff the Record
''Hoff the Record'' is a British television comedy show starring David Hasselhoff, which was screened on Dave in June 2015. It follows a mockumentary fly-on-the-wall format with David Hasselhoff playing a fictionalised version of himself in the a ...
'' alongside
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on ''The You ...
. In 2018, Chaudhry appeared in series six of the panel show ''
Taskmaster'' and starred in the television film ''
Click & Collect'' alongside
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, actor, director, presenter and writer.
Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office'' (2001–2003), and ...
.
At college, Chaudhry met Hugo Chegwin, Steve Stamp, and
Allan Mustafa
Allan "Seapa" Mustafa (born 29 September 1985) is a British actor, comedian and writer who is best known for portraying Anthony "MC Grindah" Zografos in the BBC mockumentary series ''People Just Do Nothing'', which he co-created with Asim Chaudh ...
, with whom he created
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
mockumentary videos about a fictional
pirate radio
Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license.
In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially w ...
station. This led to the group being commissioned for ''People Just Do Nothing''. Chaudhry also authored ''How To Be a Man'' under the name Chabuddy G, and the group produced music as Kurupt FM. Chaudhry wrote and directed the short film ''Love Pool'', and has appeared in ''
Happy New Year, Colin Burstead
''Happy New Year, Colin Burstead'' is a 2018 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Ben Wheatley and featuring Neil Maskell as the title character, with Hayley Squires, Sam Riley, Doon Mackichan, Joe Cole, and Charles Dance also starrin ...
'', ''
Wonder Woman 1984
''Wonder Woman 1984'' (also known as ''WW84'') is a 2020 American superhero film based on the DC character Wonder Woman. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Films, Atlas Entertainment, and The Stone Quarry, and distributed by Warner Bros. P ...
'' and ''
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch''.
Early life
Asim Chaudhry is from
Hounslow
Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Gr ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. In high school, Chaudhry made a play parodying the 1972 crime film ''
The Godfather
''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...
'', called ''The
Poppadom
A papad is an Indian deep fried dough of black gram bean flour, either fried or cooked with dry heat (flipped over an open flame) until crunchy. Other flours made from lentils, chickpeas, rice, tapioca, millet or potato are also used. ''Papad ...
Father''. On a media studies course at college, he met Hugo Chegwin, Steve Stamp, and Allan Mustafa.
The group made a series of
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
mockumentaries, filmed by Chaudhry,
based on their experiences as
DJs
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...
on a
pirate radio
Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license.
In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially w ...
station in London. The mockumentaries were seen by
Ash Atalla
Ash Atalla (born 18 June 1972) is an Egyptian-born British television producer. He has produced several British TV series such as ''The Office'', ''The IT Crowd'', '' Man Stroke Woman'' and ''People Just Do Nothing''. He has also made cameo ap ...
, producer of the mockumentary series ''
The Office
''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries.
The original series of ...
'', and Atalla commissioned the group to make the
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...
series ''
People Just Do Nothing
''People Just Do Nothing'' is a British television mockumentary sitcom, created and performed by Allan Mustafa, Steve Stamp, Asim Chaudhry and Hugo Chegwin.
The programme follows the lives of MC Grindah, DJ Beats and their friends, who run K ...
''.
Career
''People Just Do Nothing''
Chaudhry co-created and starred in ''
People Just Do Nothing
''People Just Do Nothing'' is a British television mockumentary sitcom, created and performed by Allan Mustafa, Steve Stamp, Asim Chaudhry and Hugo Chegwin.
The programme follows the lives of MC Grindah, DJ Beats and their friends, who run K ...
'', a BBC mockumentary sitcom which premiered in 2014. The series is largely improvised. Chaudhry plays Chabuddy G, a failed entrepreneur with high ambitions who manages the group Kurupt FM.
The character is partially based on Chaudhry's father.
The programme ended in 2018 after five series, as the group found it increasingly difficult to come up with new ideas.
A film, ''
People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan'', was released in 2021. A US remake is planned, in which Chaudhry will serve as an executive producer.
Chaudhry won a 2017
Royal Television Society Award
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
for Best Comedy Performance.
He was nominated for two
British Academy Television Awards
The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955.
Background
The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...
for
Best Male Comedy Performance, in 2017 and 2018.
[BAFTA TV Awards 2017: Full winners' list](_blank)
NME.[Bafta TV Awards 2018: All the nominees](_blank)
BBC. The show also won awards for Best Scripted Comedy at the 2017 BAFTAs and 2017 RTS Awards.
[RTS Programme Awards 2017](_blank)
RTS Awards 2017.
Chaudhry, Hugo Chegwin, Steve Stamp, and Allan Mustafa also perform as the group Kurupt FM. Their single "Heart Monitor Riddem" was released in 2016 after featuring in ''People Just Do Nothing'', and a music video shot by Chaudhry was released in 2018. Kurupt FM were signed to independent music label
XL Recordings
XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group.
Although only releasing an average of six album ...
. Their single "Suttin Like That" was released in October 2017, and their mixtape ''The Lost Tapes'' was released in November 2017. Chaudhry has also released a comedy book, ''How to Be a Man'', under the name Chabuddy G.
Film
In 2016, Chaudhry starred in the short film ''Donald Mohammed Trump'' as
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
. The
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
shows Trump inexplicably turning into an Asian man before a
Republican Party rally. Though Chaudhry watched hours of Trump speaking in preparation, he was told by the director to instead play Trump as "a real person", so that the film could focus on the politics of the situation rather than Trump himself. Chaudhry also appeared in the comedy film ''
Chubby Funny'', about two struggling London actors, in which he played a corner shop owner.
In February 2018, the 17-minute short film ''Love Pool'' was released, which Chaudhry wrote and directed. In ''Love Pool'', single man Mark meets a woman while carpooling with the service
Uber
Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery (Uber Eats and Postmates), package ...
. The film was Chaudhry's directorial debut, produced by DMC Film and released on the app
Vero. It was inspired by a dinner party in which Chaudhry felt pressure from his friends to settle down, and by his carpooling experiences. Chaudhry plays the taxi driver, imagining the character as the "pissed off, sour, bitter cousin" of Chabuddy G—his character in ''People Just Do Nothing''. The film won the 2018 People's Choice Award at Thunderdance, an independent film festival in London.
In 2018, Chaudhry appeared in the comedy film ''
Eaten by Lions
''Eaten by Lions'' is a 2019 British comedy film written and directed by Jason Wingard. The film stars Antonio Aakeel as Omar and Jack Carroll as Pete. The film is the feature-length adaptation of the director's 2013 short film 'Going to Me ...
'', which is about half-brothers Omar and Pete who search for Omar's estranged father after their parents are eaten by lions. It premiered at the
Edinburgh International Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...
in June 2018. In a three-star review, Steve Bennett of ''
Chortle
Chortle is a British comedy website launched in 2000 by Steve Bennett. The site is a major source of comedy news in the UK. It also reviews comedy shows nationwide, including extensively at the annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and presents the ...
'' called Chaudhry a "scene-stealer".
![StephenMerchantAltNov09](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/StephenMerchantAltNov09.jpg)
On 24 December 2018, Chaudhry starred alongside
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, actor, director, presenter and writer.
Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office'' (2001–2003), and ...
in the
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
television film ''
Click & Collect'', with a runtime of 53 minutes. The pair play Dev and Andrew, respectively, who travel on a road trip on Christmas Eve to buy Andrew's daughter a Christmas present. Chaudhry took inspiration for Dev from a former neighbour who recognised him from the television and waved at Chaudhry when he was in the kitchen, which he could see from his living room window. Adam Starkey of ''
Metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
''
and Jasper Rees of ''
The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
''
gave the film four out of five stars. Rees commented that Chaudhry performed as Dev like "slipping into an old coat".
Starkey praised the actors for "convincing, likeable performances" and wrote that Dev "takes the natural course from irritatingly vibrant neighbour to having a sympathetic, misunderstood circumstance for his enthusiasm".
In 2018, Chaudhry appeared in the
Ben Wheatley
Benjamin Wheatley (born 7 May 1972) is an English filmmaker and screenwriter. Beginning his career in advertising, Wheatley first gained recognition and acclaim for his commercials and short films, before transitioning into feature films and tel ...
black comedy ''
Happy New Year, Colin Burstead
''Happy New Year, Colin Burstead'' is a 2018 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Ben Wheatley and featuring Neil Maskell as the title character, with Hayley Squires, Sam Riley, Doon Mackichan, Joe Cole, and Charles Dance also starrin ...
'', playing Sham. The film had a limited release at film festivals before airing on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
on 30 December; a BBC television series spin-off is planned for 2019.
Neil Maskell
Neil Maskell (born 1976) is an English actor, writer and director who is known for his appearances in British crime and horror films such as '' The Football Factory'' and ''Kill List''.
Early life
Maskell was born in London. As a youth, he pl ...
stars as Colin Burstead, who hires a manor for a New Year celebration with his extended family.
Sham is an estranged character who wallows in sorrow.
Stephen Dalton of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' criticised Chaudhry's character as one of several whose secondary subplots detract from the film.
Chaudhry appeared in the interactive film ''
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch'', which was released on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
on 28 December 2018. Part of the science fiction anthology series ''
Black Mirror
''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Individual episodes explore a diversity of genres, but most are set in near-future dystopias with science fiction technology—a type of speculative fictio ...
'', ''Bandersnatch'' allows the viewer to make choices that affect the resultant story. Most storylines involve the young programmer Stefan adapting a book into an adventure game and descending into madness. Chaudhry stars as Mohan Thakur, the founder of the video game company Tuckersoft.
The film received a mostly positive critical reception. Chaudhry received racist comments following the episode, but said of the online response that "99.9% of the stuff is positive and lovely". He commented that he and his friends have all played through the film multiple times.
Television
Chaudhry starred in the mockumentary ''
Hoff the Record
''Hoff the Record'' is a British television comedy show starring David Hasselhoff, which was screened on Dave in June 2015. It follows a mockumentary fly-on-the-wall format with David Hasselhoff playing a fictionalised version of himself in the a ...
'', which aired for twelve episodes on
Dave Dave may refer to:
Film, television, and theater
* ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver
* ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film
* Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...
in 2015 and 2016. The programme follows
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on ''The You ...
as he struggles to find work in the UK, with Chaudhry playing his driver.
The show won an
International Emmy Award for Best Comedy Series in 2016. In a four-star review of the first episode for ''
The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'', Michael Hogan called Chaudhry "the standout among the supporting cast".
In 2017, Chaudhry appeared on the quiz show ''
Celebrity Mastermind'', finishing third of four. In April 2018, he appeared in an episode of ''
Rob Beckett's Playing For Time'', in which
Rob Beckett
Robert Anthony Beckett (born 2 January 1986) is an English comedian, narrator, and presenter. He was a co-host on the ITV2 spin-off show '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW!'' from 2012 to 2014. Since 2016, Beckett has been a team capta ...
plays a series of video games with his guest. In May 2018, Chaudhry played Arnab in the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
sitcom ''
High & Dry''. The six-episode series is about a group of people who survive a plane crash, and was filmed in the
Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...
.
Chaudhry was a contestant on the sixth series of Dave panel show ''
Taskmaster''; the episodes premiered between May and July 2018. ''Taskmaster'' challenges its panellists to complete humorous and absurd tasks, such as "bring in the best liquid".
The sixth series featured Chaudhry alongside
Alice Levine
Alice Esme Levine (born 8 July 1986) is an English radio and television presenter, narrator, and comedian.
Early life and education
Levine was born in Beeston, Nottinghamshire. Her father is a retired lecturer at the University of Nottingham. H ...
,
Liza Tarbuck,
Russell Howard
Russell Joseph Howard (born 23 March 1980) is an English comedian, television presenter, radio presenter, and actor. He was known for his television show ''Russell Howard's Good News'' and is currently doing ''The Russell Howard Hour'', and his ...
, and
Tim Vine
Timothy Mark Vine (born 4 March 1967) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter best known for his one-liners and his role on the sitcom ''Not Going Out'' (2006–2014). He has released a number of stand-up comedy specials and has wr ...
; it set record ratings for the programme, with an average viewership of 900,000. Sam Wollaston of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' called Chaudhry "absolutely hopeless at everything, but hilariously and very likably so".
In 2018, Chaudhry appeared on chat shows ''
The Jonathan Ross Show
''The Jonathan Ross Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2011 and airs on Saturday evenings following the conclusion of Ross' BBC One chat show, ''Friday Night with Jonatha ...
'' and ''
The One Show
''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...
'', with the latter appearance in a Christmas special. In 2019, Chaudhry appeared on the first episode of ''
The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan
''The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan'' is a British late-night chat show presented by comedian Mo Gilligan, that first aired on Channel 4 on 19 July 2019. Similar to other late night chat shows, the programme includes a house band, live audience a ...
''.
In January 2021, Chaudhry was cast in the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
adaptation of ''
The Sandman''.
Other
Chaudhry appears in
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
' safety video as Director Chabuddy G.
and in
Riz Ahmed
Rizwan Ahmed (; ; born ) is a British actor and rapper. As an actor, he has won an Emmy Award and has received nominations for a Golden Globe and three British Independent Film Awards, and as a rapper he has won an Academy Award for the short ...
's album ''
The Long Goodbye'', also as Chabuddy G.
Filmography
Television
Film
Awards and nominations
Bibliography
*
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaudhry, Asim
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
British people of Indian descent
Place of birth missing (living people)
British male comedians
British male actors
People from Hounslow