Paul Chowdhry
| Paul Chowdhry | |
|---|---|
 Chowdhry in 2025 | |
| Birth name | Tajpaul Singh Chowdhry |
| Native name | ਪਾਲ ਚੌਧਰੀ |
| Born | 21 August 1974 Edgware, London, England |
| Medium |
|
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Genres | |
| Relative(s) | Navin Chowdhry (cousin) |
| Website | paulchowdhry |
Tajpaul Singh Chowdhry (born 21 August 1974),[1][2] better known as Paul Chowdhry, is a British comedian and actor.[3] He is of Indian Punjabi Sikh descent.[4][5][3][6] Known for observational and satirical comedy that frequently addresses themes of race, multiculturalism, and British identity, Chowdhry is widely regarded as one of the greatest British Indian comedians of all time.[7][8][9][10]
Chowdhry has made numerous appearances on television comedy shows including hosting Stand Up for the Week, and he twice headlined Live at the Apollo, in 2012 and 2015. In 2016, he competed on Taskmaster alongside Dave Gorman, Sara Pascoe, Al Murray and eventual winner Rob Beckett. In 2017, Chowdhry became the first comedian of Asian heritage to sell out Wembley Arena.[11] He has released four stand-up comedy specials, What’s Happening White People through Universal Pictures in 2012 and later broadcast on Channel 4, PC’s World released on DVD through Universal Pictures in 2015, Live Innit on Amazon Prime Video in 2019 and later shown on Comedy Central, and Family-Friendly Comedian on Sky UK in 2024.
He has performed six tours across the world – Not PC (2010), What’s Happening White People? (2012), PC’s World (2014), Live Innit? (2017), Family Friendly Comedian (2022), and Englandia, which debuted in 2025.
Chowdhry has received numerous awards, including the Comedy award at the Eastern Eye Arts, Culture & Theatre Awards 2019, Comedian of the Year award at the Asian Voice Political & Public Life Awards 2019, and he was nominated for Entertainer of the Year by the British Asian Awards 2019. His show Live Innit? won Best Live Event 2018 at the ITV Asian Media Awards.[12]
As an actor, Chowdhry is known for Cruella (2021), Devils (2019), Swinging with the Finkels (2011), and Colour Me Kubrick (2005).
Career
Chowdhry 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.[13]
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.
Influences
Chowdhry 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."[14]
Personal life
Chowdhry 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.”[15] 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."[16]
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."[17]
Stand Up
Chowdhry started his stand up career performing in pubs and clubs around London, often risking racial attacks.[18]
November 2001 saw him at Jongleurs Battersea and Brixton Comedy Club[19] and, in April 2003, he was still performing in Brixton.[20]
2003 also saw him in Trinidad, where he was the first British act to perform at the Caribbean Comedy Festival.[21]
Stand-up shows
| 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) | |
| 2025 | Englandia |
DVD releases
| 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
In early 2003 Chowdhry appeared on stage as "shady, Archers-obsessed Raheem" in the play Finding Bin Laden.[22]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | The Colour of Funny | Raj Mahal |
| Rogue Trader[23] | Uncredited | |
| 2000 | It Was an Accident | Rafiq Roy |
| 2002 | Bollywood Queen[21] | 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
References
- ^ "Paul Chowdhry". Chortle. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ^ "The 'Prince' of Comedy". The Asian Today. The Asian Today Ltd. 5 December 2006. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Nazir, Asjad (28 October 2021). "King Paul returns to rule the stage". Eastern Eye. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
- ^ Nazir, Asjad (21 February 2025). "Paul Chowdhry on upcoming show 'Englandia' and connecting with audiences". Eastern Eye. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
- ^ Dessau, Bruce (3 March 2025). "Paul Chowdhry Adds Extra Tour Dates Due To Demand". Beyond the Joke. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
- ^ Kumar, Shyama Krishna (30 November 2023). "Paul Chowdhry set to bring 'family-friendly' comedy to Riyadh ". Arab News. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
- ^ Dessau, Bruce (3 March 2025). "Paul Chowdhry Adds Extra Tour Dates Due To Demand". Beyond the Joke. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
- ^ Barnes, Brad (12 December 2024). "Comedian Paul Chowdhry adds Peterborough date to tour". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
- ^ "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.