Tajpaul Singh Chowdhry (born 21 August 1974),[1][2] better known as Paul Chowdhry, is an English comedian and actor.[3] He is of Indian Punjabi Sikh descent.[4][5][6][7] He began his stand up career in 1998 and hosted the Channel 4 comedy series Stand Up for the Week as of the fifth series, having been a regular act for the third and fourth series. Chowdhry was the first British act to perform at the Caribbean Comedy Festival in Trinidad in 2003. He has been a guest panelist on 8 out of 10 Cats, Comedy World Cup, and Sorry, I Didn't Know. He has appeared on Live at the Apollo twice, in 2012 and 2015. In 2016, he was one of the contestants on series three of the comedy show Taskmaster. In 2017, he was a guest stand-up performer in The Russell Howard Hour and also sold out the 10,000-seater Wembley Arena, becoming the first British Asian stand-up comic to do so.[8] In 2020, Chowdhry appeared in the television drama series Devils. Since 2021, he has been hosting the podcast The Paul Chowdhry PudCast, in which he interviews comedians. He uses the signature phrase "what's happening white people?" at the start of his stand-up routines.
Paul Chowdhry | |
|---|---|
ਪਾਲ ਚੌਧਰੀ | |
 Chowdhry in 2015 | |
| Born | Tajpaul Singh Chowdhry 21 August 1974 Edgware, London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Comedian, actor |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Website | paulchowdhry |
Influences
editHe lists his influences as: "Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, George Carlin and Sam Kinison. Then Morecambe and Wise, Little and Large and Bruce Forsyth from the UK definitely inspired me to get into comedy."[9]
Personal life
editChowdhry makes an effort to keep fit during touring, telling Coach Magazine: "I don't eat chapatis, even though I’m Indian" – and replacing them with higher-protein substitutes like bulgur wheat and quinoa. "If I only had ten minutes to work out, I’d do high-intensity abs training.”[10] He has also spoken about his battles with mental health in the New Statesman: "Mental health problems aren’t really discussed in the Asian community."[11]
Talking to the South China Morning Post, he said, "People see you as an Asian comedian, whereas the other two guys coming to Hong Kong (Sean Meo and Michael McIntyre) aren't Asian comedians – they're just British. But they're not referred to as 'English white comedians'. I'm British. I was born in England. The fact that I'm Asian has very little to do with my stand-up, although it would have an influence for an obvious reason because of the way I'm perceived by certain people. So I play on the stereotypes and try to change them."[12]
Stand Up
editChowdhry started his stand up career performing in pubs and clubs around London, often risking racial attacks.[13]
November 2001 saw him at Jongleurs Battersea and Brixton Comedy Club[14] and, in April 2003, he was still performing in Brixton.[15]
2003 also saw him in Trinidad, where he was the first British act to perform at the Caribbean Comedy Festival.[16]
Stand-up shows
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | Not PC | |
| 2012 | What's Happening White People? | |
| 2014–15 | PC's World | |
| 2017–18 | Live Innit | |
| 2022–23 | Family-Friendly Comedian (no children) |
DVD releases
edit| Title | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| What's Happening White People? | 19 November 2012 | Live at London's Hammersmith Apollo |
| PC's World - Live 2015 | 30 November 2015 | |
| Live Innit | 19 August 2019 | Amazon Prime Video special Live at London's Hackney Empire |
Stage
editIn early 2003 Chowdhry appeared on stage as "shady, Archers-obsessed Raheem" in the play Finding Bin Laden.[17]
Filmography
edit| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | The Colour of Funny | Raj Mahal |
| Rogue Trader[18] | Uncredited | |
| 2000 | It Was an Accident | Rafiq Roy |
| 2002 | Bollywood Queen[16] | Uncredited |
| 2005 | Colour Me Kubrick | Pub Announcer |
| 2008 | The Blue Tower | Dil |
| 2011 | Swinging with the Finkels | Henry |
| 2016 | Taskmaster | Contestant |
| 2020 | Devils | Kalim Chowdrey |
| 2021 | Cruella | Restaurant Owner |
| The Cleaner | Man Boy (1 episode) |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Paul Chowdhry". Chortle. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ^ "The 'Prince' of Comedy". The Asian Today. The Asian Today Ltd. 5 December 2006. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ^ "Harrow's Own Paul Chowdhry Edges Out the Competition". 4 December 2017.
- ^ BREXINNIT. Paul Chowdhry. 12 November 2019. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Patels – Paul Chowdhry. Paul Chowdhry. 7 April 2017. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Harrow's Own Paul Chowdhry Edges Out the Competition". 4 December 2017.
- ^ Live at the Apollo Paul Chowdhry. It's baking Dave. Ovid. 18 July 2016. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Paul Chowdhry". Avalon. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ Partnership, The Kolberg. "INTERVIEW: A quick chat with COMEDIAN Paul Chowdhry – London Art Scene from The Art Stop". AllinLondon. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "Paul Chowdhry: "Treat yourself like Bruce Lee!"". Coach. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "Paul Chowdhry: "Mental health problems aren't really discussed in the Asian community."". New Statesman. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "Comic awake to dangers of stereotypes". South China Morning Post. 12 October 2006. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "Paul is pulling no punches". News Shopper. 21 March 2003. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Comedy". News Shopper. 16 November 2001. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Comedy listings until April 10". News Shopper. 4 April 2003. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ a b Rae, Nicci (4 December 2017). "Harrow's own Paul Chowdhry edges out the competition". Harrow Online. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ Bennett, Steve. "Finding Bin Laden : Reviews 2003 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ Saner, Emine (4 August 2017). "Paul Chowdhry: 'People write this abuse to me, and I've just got to take it?'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 March 2024.