BBC announces titles for The Big British Asian Summer
The BBC has announced new titles for BBC Two, BBC Three and BBC Four that will be broadcast as part of The Big British Asian Summer and launched a major new survey co-commissioned by BBC Factual, BBC News and BBC Asian Network.
The attitudinal survey of 2,000 British Asians will explore topics from what aspect of their identity they prioritise, role of faith in their lives and their view on just how tolerant Britain is today, to their attitudes towards relationships and sexuality. Survey results will be reported on BBC News, inform season content across local radio and be unpicked in a week of special coverage on BBC Asian Network including the Big Debate, culminating in a live discussion show, with an invited audience, hosted by Mobeen Azhar on Monday 16th August.
Additional programming for the season announced today includes The Big Asian Stand-up hosted by The Mash Report’s Nish Kumar for BBC Two that will showcase new Asian comedy talent from the UK and beyond. BBC Two will also present the film The Reluctant Fundamentalist featuring Riz Ahmed preceded by a feature interview with him about his career and Anita and Me which will be preceded by a feature interview with the film’s writer, Meera Syal.
BBC Three will be following the dealings of Kash and Shabs, two brothers whose family business is a supercar garage in Essex which customises and revamps million-pound cars in Supercar, Superfam (w/t) whilst Generation Smackdown sees three generations of British Asian families come together to discuss issues sparked by TV clips that feature Asian representation. And My Asian Alter Ego brings together a collection of British Asian cultural commentators who predominantly live their lives online to have an honest conversation about today’s British Asian identity.
On BBC Four, BBC Asian Network DJ, Bobby Friction, recounts the rise and history of Bhangra music across Britain in the 1980s through encounters with legends of the scene in Pump Up the Bhangra: The Sound of Asian Britain.
BBC Two
BBC Two Presents The Big Asian Stand-Up
Presented by comedian and host of BBC Two’s The Mash Report, Nish Kumar, The Big Asian Stand-Up will showcase a new wave of Asian comedic talent from the UK and beyond. Airing across two nights on BBC Two in August, the shows are part of the BBC’s Big British Asian Summer, which celebrates the cultural and artistic contribution of Asian Britons.
Filmed in front of a live audience at the iconic City Varieties Music Hall in Leeds, Nish will introduce a mix of hilarious stand-ups who also share an exciting and diverse voice, one that reflects the experience of the second or third generation of immigrants to the UK.
Award winning acts on the bill include, Tez Ilyas (Man Like Mobeen), Emily Lloyd Saini (BBC Asian Network), Ahir Shah (Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominee) alongside many other exciting new comedy faces in what is sure to be an unforgettable night of stand-up comedy.
The Big Asian Stand-Up, 2×30 is a BBC Studios Production for BBC Two. Commissioned by Pinki Chambers, Commissioning Editor, Entertainment. The Executive Producers for BBC Studios are Chris Sussman and Steve Canny and the producers are Adnan Ahmed and Anil Gupta.
British Asian Film
Introduced by Riz Ahmed and Meera Syal
Riz Ahmed: Road to Englistan (w/t)
Nikki Bedi interviews one of Britain’s most successful and outspoken actors: Riz Ahmed. He’s currently writing Englistan, a multi-generational drama for BBC Two, and has starred in numerous critically lauded films and TV series including The Reluctant Fundamentalist, HBO’s The Night Of (for which he won an Emmy) – and Rogue One- part of the world-conquering Star Wars franchise.
Nikki meets Riz in Brooklyn where he has been rehearsing a new film: over a career-spanning interview, they talk about movies, music and politics – as well as the challenges that Riz has overcome.
Riz opens up about his childhood in Wembley as the son of immigrants from Pakistan, and he talks about growing up in a ‘cultural no-man’s land’: switching identities as he moved between his (traditionally Muslim) family-life, his predominantly white school, and his mates who were into British Asian street culture.
He discusses working with talents such as Chris Morris, his roles in films such as Nightcrawler and The Night Of, and blockbusters such as Jason Bourne, the Marvel film Venom, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
The interview is followed by a screening of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mira Nair’s 2012 film that features Riz’s breakthrough international performance.
Riz Ahmed: Road to Englistan is a 1 x 30 film for BBC Two. The commissioning Editor is Mark Bell. It will be made by Academy 7, the Executive Producers are Sebastian Barfield and John Durrant and the director is John Das.
Anita and Me…. And Me
To introduce her 2002 film Anita And Me, Meera Syal journeys back to Essington in the Black Country – the mining village where she grew up. She describes how her childhood here inspired the coming-of-age novel Anita and Me, that she subsequently adapted into a film.
Meera opens up about how she was an outsider, with one foot in the Indian culture of her parents, and the other in Essington’s white, working class community. She revisits the site of her old house – and discusses why she wrote Anita and Me: “I wanted to record the lives of us – the first generation of British Asian kids born here, and especially the lives of our parents”. Now, the story is part of the GCSE curriculum: “that’s monumental for me -we’re here, we contributed.”
Anita and Me…and Me 1 x 10 film for BBC Two. The commissioning Editor is Mark Bell. It will be made by Academy 7, the Executive Producers are Sebastian Barfield and John Durrant and the director is Rob Hifle.
BBC Three
Supercar, Superfam (w/t)
Supercar Superfam (w/t) offers a window into an aspirational British-Pakistani family and follows Kash and Shabs, two brothers that own a supercar workshop in Essex which customises and revamps some of the most powerful sports cars in the world.
Kash and Shabs began the business on the drive way of their family home in Ilford 20 years ago, where they still live today. They own a variety of luxury cars between them and the show follows their lives through the prism of family, love, life and business. We’ll meet Dad Farid, who wants to know when Shabs is going to get married and when Kash is finally going to own a home of his own, we’ll learn about some of their clients who spend huge amounts of money on their cars and we’ll meet their younger sister to gain perspective on what it is like to be a young Muslim woman in the UK today.
Supercar, Superfam (w/t) is a 3 x 10 series for BBC Three. It was commissioned by Damian Kavanagh, Controller, BBC Three, and Daisy Griffith, Digital Commissioner Factual, the commissioning Editor for BBC Three is Laura Marks. It will be made by Transparent TV and the Executive Producer is Jazz Gowans.
Generation Smackdown
Generation Smackdown is an irreverent guide to British Asian Culture that will spark conversation and debate by featuring topical TV clips from Asian inspired shows as a jump-off point for discussion amongst British Asian Families. The topics chosen relate to those featured in the major new survey commissioned for the season and the clips for the show were chosen picked to provide a vehicle to illustrate the themes. The issues featured will also feed into the live discussion show hosted by Mobeen Azhar on the Asian Network in order to continue the conversation around the themes the series tackles.
Generation Smackdown is a 4 x 5 series for YouTube and Facebook. It was commissioned by Damian Kavanagh, Controller, BBC Three, and Daisy Griffith, Digital Commissioner Factual. The commissioning Editor for BBC Three is Laura Marks. It will be made by 7 Wonder and the Executive Producer is Jez Lee.
My Asian Alter Ego
My Asian Alter Ego brings together a collection of British Asian cultural commentators who predominantly live their lives online, but may have a very different personality when their phones stop uploading.
For generations, British Asians have generally presented themselves with different identities depending on whether they are with families, friends, workplaces or peer group. In today’s age of social media stars and influencers, with highly curated feeds, that sense of multiple identities has never been more complex.
From fashion models to tech bloggers My Asian Alter Ego is a frank and honest conversation about today’s British Asian identity which strives to reveal the private side of their modern lives, behind their public persona.
My Asian Alter Ego will be shown on BBC Three’s social platforms and was commissioned by Damian Kavanagh, Controller, BBC Three and Daisy Griffith, Digital Commissioner Factual. The commissioning Editor for BBC Three is Laura Marks.
BBC Four
Pump Up the Bhangra: The Sound of Asian Britain
Pump up the Bhangra is the story of how British Asians came of age as they found their voice and celebrated their identity through Bhangra music.
Fronted by BBC Asian Network DJ Bobby Friction, the film recounts how a simple folk tradition from India was transformed in the 1980’s to become a unique part of the British club music scene, outselling many mainstream UK acts.
It’s a story of cassette tapes, corner shops and glitter-clad musical heroes – of teenagers bunking school to attend secret daytime gigs and music that soundtracked battles against racism and discrimination.
Through a series of entertaining encounters with Bhangra legends and those they influenced, Bobby reflects on how thousands of second generation British Asians like him became comfortable with their heritage and their place in Britain through Bhangra music.
The film features many of the biggest and most influential names from the Bhangra scene including Balbir Bhujhangy, Gurcharan Mall, Heera, Apna Sangeet, Chani Singh, Bally Sagoo, Aki Nawaaz, JK and many more.
Pump up the Bhangra is a documentary for BBC Four. It was commissioned by Emma Cahusac, Commissioning Editor BBC Arts and produced by Richard Bright, Executive Producer BBC Studios. This film was produced and directed by Ashok Prasad.
