Asad Shan
Asad Shan is a British actor, fashion model, TV presenter, and producer/director. He was formerly an investment banker, having worked for RBS and HSBC. He was crowned Mr. Asia UK, beating 20 contestants in the process. 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.
Shan's other notable appearances include being a veejay for B4U Music, 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. Shan has starred in many New York Film Academy productions, 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. His grandparents moved to London from Jhelum 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. Asad won the Mr. Asia UK competition and 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. He worked on the company's debut venture, a Bollywood thriller film titled 7 Welcome to London. He played Jai in the starring role. The film was set in London and had a UK-wide release on 9 March 2012.
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.
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 Shan has hosted a daily request show Rock The Vibe in the past for Zing.
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 started filming his first drama serial called "Aabgeenay" written by Qaisra Hayat and directed by Nadeem Siddique. This shoot started in Karachi in 2018 and after 70% of shoot, it was put on hold due to the ceasing of production house.
2023 saw Asad make a special appearance in An Action Hero and 2024 saw the release of Tell me about it on Amazon Prime, where Asad plays the lead role. Currently Asad is writing his next directional feature.
2024 saw the release of Asad's next feature role, Tell me about it. This British feature film was set in Bradford. Directed by British Pakistani film director Suman Hanif, it had its grand premiere at the Bradford Science Museum and is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Personal life
Asad plays tennis at the UK county level. He loves outdoor sports and is a keen hiker. He loves foreign cinema especially French and South Korean.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 | Kal | B3 Productions | Navdeep Khandola | - | |
| 2012 | 7 Welcome to London | Jai | Iconic Productions UK Ltd. | 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
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 |
| 2010–2015 | Brits Bollywood | Vj Asad | Zing |
| 2013–2014 | Grinds My Teeth | Vj Asad | Zing |
| 2015–2016 | Zing JukeBox | Vj Asad | Zing |
| 2018 | Aabgeenay | Shahzad | GEO TV |
| 2015–2018 | The Film Show | Vj Asad | Zing |
Commercials
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 |