Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Kulvinder Ghir began as a stand-up comic, performing in clubs around the north-east of England.

In 1985 he made his first appearance on television as a regular cast member in Howards’ Way (1985-87).

Kulvinder is best known as one of the cast members in the BBC comedy sketch show Goodness Gracious Me (BBC, 1998-2000), in both its radio and TV incarnation. Amongst the many characters Ghir played were “Chunky Lafunga”, a sexy Bollywood “hero”, the superhero Bhangra Man, and as one half of the “Bhangramuffins” duo (alongside series co-writer Sanjeev Bhaskar).

In 1986 he appeared in Rita, Sue and Bob Too (directed by Alan Clarke) and starred in the BBC Screen Two drama Lucky Sunil (tx. 17/4/1988). In 1991 he wrote his first short, Breath of Life (directed by Navin Thappar).

He played Aslam in the 1987 Yorkshire-based film Rita, Sue and Bob Too!, alongside Michelle Holmes, Siobhan Finneran and George Costigan.

During the 1990s, Ghir’s career developed steadily, with regular roles in Waterfront Beat (BBC, 1990-91), The Real McCoy (BBC, 1991-94) and At Home With the Braithwaites (ITV, 2000-). Other film credits include Brothers in Trouble (directed by Udayan Prasad, 1995), Flight (directed by Alex Pillai, 1998) and Bend it Like Beckham (directed by Gurinder Chadha, 2002).

His play Dusky Warriors premiered at the Theatre Royal, Stratford, London, in 1995.

2003 marked his return to theatre, making his RSC debut in an adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s novel Midnight’s Children.

He is also known for providing the voice of Ajay Bains in Postman Pat and other animations including Chop Socky Chooks and the 2015 reboot of Bob the Builder.

In 2009, he was in the film 31 North 62 East as Tariq. From September 2009 to May 2011, Ghir was part of the cast of BBC Three comedy series Lunch Monkeys, playing Mohammed Khan, father of Abdullah Afzal’s character. The show lasted two series.

In 2013, he appeared as one of the feuding brothers in the UK film, Jadoo. He also appeared in the final episode of British sitcom Big School, as Mr Rupesh the school bus driver. Since 2013, he has played Cyril in Still Open All Hours.

In 2019, Kulvinder played the protagonist’s father in Blinded by the Light.

Kulwinder was part of the DESIblitz Literature Festival 2023 and featured in the event Goodness Gracious Me – From Writing to Screen on Friday, October 20, 2023.

More SPEAKERS