Arfi Lamba

Arfi Lamba is an Indian-born actor, producer, entertainer, philosopher, and humanist who has appeared in films, television shows, theatre productions, television commercials, and print advertisements. His acting debut on screen came in 2008 with the film Slumdog Millionaire. He is known for his role in the action-comedy film Singh Is Bliing, directed by Prabhu Deva and co-starring Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Lara Dutta and Kay Kay Menon.[1]

Arfi Lamba
Arfi Lamba (first from right).
Born	Arfi U Lamba Moga, Punjab
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Actor, Producer
Years active	2008–present
Parents	Upinder Singh Lamba (father) Kamal Lamba (mother)
Website	arfilamba.com
Signature

He lives in Mumbai and is now also co-owner and promoter of Bombay Berlin Film Productions, along with Katharina Suckale.

Early life and education

Born in Punjab, India, he attended Thapar University, former Institute of Engineering and Technology, where he pursued a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Before becoming an actor, he worked as an engineer at Engineers India Limited, Delhi and was a part of process designed for refineries.[2]

In 2008, he moved to Mumbai and received his performing arts training from Shri Dinesh Thakur, Mahabano Modi Kotwal and Vinod Nahri of the Ank Theatre Group. To further polish his skills through 2008 to 2015, Lamba participated in workshops in Berlin, Cannes and Mumbai studying acting and dance under Nancy Bishop, Teresa Harder, Karin Seven, Bharti Jaffery, Atul Mongia and Neeraj Kabi.

During the 33rd Cairo International Film Festival he was honored for being a part of the award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire along with Irrfan Khan and Anil Kapoor.[3]

Acting career

After realising he wanted to be an actor, Lamba gained national exposure when he began acting professionally on the stage. One of his first substantial roles was in the acclaimed musical play Anjor Kaya, a debut production of Prarambh Performing Arts.[4] He garnered recognition for his performances in highly praised Indo-Pakistan partition drama Jis Lahore Nai Dekhya, social satirical play Chabi, and murder mystery play Tere Pyar Mein.[5]

In addition to stage roles, Lamba appeared in short films including Shunyata (2007) and A Perfect Murder (2007) and Rohan Sabharwal's film Shades of Grey, critically acclaimed in London and other short film festival circuits. He played one of the lead roles in the romantic film Prague (in which he portrayed Chandan Roy Sanyal's alter ego), which received critical acclaim but did not do well at the box office. Lamba played a pivotal role in Kabir Sadanand's action-comedy film Fugly.[6][7][8] His television performance credits include AXN television's Man’s World episode featuring What men want; and Star Plus’ Prithvi Raj Chauhan - historical costume Drama about a brave Indian prince. He has had appearances in award-winning National College student's film An Open road with a dead end,[9] and a corporate film for Procter & Gamble.

With his athletic personality, and fresh appeal, the actor bagged modelling assignments to walk the ramp for Pantaloons Fashion Brand, Shopper's Stop mall, and Balaji Telefilms. He has featured in TV commercials including for Polo Mint, Good Milk, 9X Channel, Bathroom singer, TLC television commercial, Live TV Network, Karaoke Brand With Priti Jhangiani.

Throughout his career, the actor has been featured[10] on several print media outlets including Lancel, Paris, Air Sahara inhouse magazine, Donear Suitings, Calendar for Escotel, Woman’s Era Editorial Shoot, Hercules Health drink, and CMS Computer Education.

He has been signed on by a boutique talent management company, Empire Agency, to represent him for the rest of the world, while in India he is represented by Viniyard Films.

Bombay Berlin Film Productions

Lamba along with Katharina Suckale, is the owner and promoter of Bombay Berlin Film Production, a one-of-a-kind Indo-European Film Production house.[11]

Prague was the first film the company co-produced. A psychological thriller and romance in which Lamba played a pivotal role, it was released in 2012 to critical acclaim, though it did not perform well in the box office.[12] The Marathi film Maunraag was their second such co-production, which even featured in the Indian International Film Festival of South Africa.[13]

Their debut in-house production feature LOEV, a love saga between two men,[14] made its world premiere in a prestigious Tallinn International Film Festival and competed for the Best Debut Feature and Best Debut Film awards in November 2015.[15] The film sold five territories,[16] and saw its Indian debut at the 18th MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2016, all to very positive reviews.[10][17][18][19]

Aside from 'LOEV,' Bombay Berlin Film Productions has also co-produced the first ever Myanmar-French-German-Taiwanese collaboration - The Road To Mandalay,[20][21] a tragic love story about two immigrants leaving Myanmar for Taiwan in search of a better life.[16][22] The film has been across many film festivals including the Venice Film Festival, The Toronto International Film Festival, the Busan International Film Festival and the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.[23][24][25][26][27] The film has also been nominated for six Golden Horse Awards and won the FEDEORA award for best film.[28][29]

Lamba was on the jury of 22nd Cairo International Children’s film festival 2015.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2019	Jabariya Jodi	Jeetu
2018	The Idiot	Abdul
2018	Gift	Kiran
2018	Shinaakht	Idrish
2015	Singh Is Bliing	Pappy	[1]
2015	Marry Me!	Mr. Lamba	[30]
2014	Fugly	Aditya	[3]
2012	Prague	Arfi	[31]
2008	Slumdog Millionaire	Actor	[32]

Theatre

Year	Title	Role
2009	Anjor Kaaya[33]	Actor
2005-2006	Chabi	Actor
2005-2006	Jis Lahore Nahin Vekheya	Actor
2005-2006	Tere Pyar Me	Actor

Awards

Year	Award	Category
2018	Udyod Rattan Award	Best Entrepreneur (Bombay Berlin Film Productions)
2018	3rd Lake City International Film Festival	Best Actor (The Idiot)
2018	Kala-Samruddhi International Short Film Festival	Best Actor (The Idiot)

References

1. tribuneindia.com "tribuneindialifestyle.com", 2015-09-01
2. Mehta, Ankita. "Interview: Akshay Kumar has been an inspiration, says actor-producer Arfi Lamba". International Business Times, India Edition. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
3. "The fugly truth - Arfi Lamba". filmfare.com. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
4. "In the city". indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
5. "Arfi Lamba". www.arfilamba.com. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
6. "'Fugly' - at last, a film with social conscience (IANS Movie Review - Rating: ****)". Retrieved 24 October 2016.
7. Hungama, Bollywood. "Fugly Review - Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
8. Team, MensXP. "Bollywood Movie Fugly (2014) Critics Review And Rating". www.mensxp.com. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
9. "Arfi Lamba". www.arfilamba.com. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
10. Shiverdecker, Matt. "SXSW film 'Loev' succeeds | Austin Movie Blog". Retrieved 24 October 2016.
11. Rosario, Kennith (18 August 2016). "Crossing cinematic borders". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
12. "Prague Movie Review, Trailer, & Show timings at Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
13. "Six Pune films reach African shores". mid-day. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
14. FPJ, Bureau. ""I am trying to do my bit by making Loev", says Arfi Lamba". www.freepressjournal.in. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
15. "Sudhanshu Saria's 'Loev' To Play In Competition At Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival! - Jamuura Blog". Jamuura Blog. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
16. Murthi, Vikram. "The Road To Mandalay Trailer: Two Illegal Immigrants Fall In Love | IndieWire". www.indiewire.com. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
17. Pandolin (15 October 2016). "Experience 'LOEV' at MAMI". Pandolin. Archived from the original on 27 July 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
18. Times, Los Angeles. "'LOEV': A love story that could change Bollywood". latimes.com. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
19. Ford, Zack (21 October 2016). "Indian film 'Loev' shows self-acceptance in an unaccepting society". ThinkProgress. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
20. "Midi Z's 'Road To Mandalay' secures German co-producer". Retrieved 24 October 2016.
21. "Interview: Indians are homophobic and I am trying to do my bit by making Loev: Arfi Lamba". CatchNews.com. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
22. "Midi Z's 'Road To Mandalay' secures German co-producer". Retrieved 13 October 2016.
23. "Venice buzz title: Midi Z talks biggest production to date 'The Road To Mandalay'". Retrieved 13 October 2016.
24. "The Road to Mandalay". www.tiff.net. Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
25. "Mumbai Academy of Moving Image - ProgrammeDetail Site". www.mumbaifilmfestival.com. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
26. "VIFF 2016 | The Road To Mandalay". Schema Magazine. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
27. "The Road To Mandalay | SGIFF 2016". Singapore International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
28. "Nominee for six awards at the 2016 Golden Horse Awards The Road to Mandalay" (PDF). 3 October 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2016 – via Singapore International Film Festival.
29. "'The Road to Mandalay' wins FEDEORA Award for Best Film in Venice | Culture | FOCUS TAIWAN - CNA ENGLISH NEWS". Retrieved 13 October 2016.
30. "Marry Me! Full Cast and Crew". IMDB.
31. Noble, Will (14 September 2011). "Around Town: The personality of Prague Indian psycho-thriller depicts Czech capital as a character". The Prague Post. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
32. Rajendra, Ranjani (4 June 2014). "I want to be a trendsetter: Arfi Lamba". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
33. "Saifee doctor has his wish granted | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". dna. 7 February 2009. Retrieved 13 October 2016.

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