Cornelius R: put up initial pg w/ refs

2026-02-09T11:32:21Z

put up initial pg w/ refs

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{{Infobox person
| name = Upinder Randhawa
| birth_place = Australia
| occupation = Film director, executive producer, reporter, presenter, actor
| known_for = Coverage of the 2011 England riots; CEO & Founder of Freedom Films Productions; Channel Head of NewsNumber.Com
}}

'''Upinder Randhawa''' is a Film maker as well as a radio and television reporter and presenter working in the [[United Kingdom]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/hei-fi/entertainment/mash-hits-theart-of-the-mash-up-2337967.html|title=Mash hits: The art of the mash-up|newspaper=The Independent|author=Rhodri Marsden}}</ref> He has also acted in four movies in [[India]]. He has worked as a [[Film director|director]] and produced KIRDAAR which is getting released worldwide. Randhawa also worked as a line [[Film producer|producer]] and an executive producer in the film industry. He's the [[CEO]] & Founder of Freedom Films Productions and is currently working on some Bollywood productions as well as some ventures with his business partner Shahid Hasan and film maker [[Anees Bazmee]].

Randhawa is also a Channel Head for NewsNumber.Com which is one of the biggest social journalism platforms. He has also launched his own music production and is working with his signed artists on music and film projects. Upinder Randhawa is a Film Director and an Executive Producer. He also run a Music Record Label under Freedom Records.

==Early life==
Randhawa was born in [[Australia]] .<ref>[http://suhaag.com/lifestyle/entertainment/british-sikh-tv-presenter-is-now-facebook-hero/ "British Sikh TV presenter is now Facebook hero"]. ''Suhaag'', August 12, 2011</ref> After studying in [[Melbourne, Australia]], and working for a short time in [[Delhi]],<ref name=express>[http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/randhawa-in-city-hands-full-with-punjabi-movie-offers/943671/ "Randhawa in city, hands full with Punjabi movie offers"]. Raakhi Jagga. Ludhiana, May 01 2012</ref> he came to the United Kingdom in 2009.<ref name="Engineer">{{cite book|author=Tarun Engineer|title=Higher the Risk Greater the Success|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V8dfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT75|publisher=Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd|isbn=978-81-288-2856-0|pages=75–}}</ref><ref>[https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/eyecatchers/story/20110829-uk-riots-sangat-tv-anchor-upinder-randhawa-is-riot-hero-747301-2011-08-19 "Peace Cadet"]. ''India Today'', Shibani Bedi. August 20, 2011</ref>

==Career==
Randhawa worked for several Asian community radio stations. He exposed a series of controversies regarding a breach of the Ofcom sponsorship rules by one Station at which he had worked. <ref>{{cite news|url=http://media247.co.uk/bizasia/newsarchive/2011/07/raaj_fm_in_brea.php |newspaper=Biz Asia |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110922071445/http://media247.co.uk/bizasia/newsarchive/2011/07/raaj_fm_in_brea.php |archive-date=2011-09-22 |title= Raaj FM in breach of Sandwell Council regulations}} (blank page)</ref>

Randhawa later worked as a presenter for UK lifestyle channel [[Sangat TV]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Riots turn Sikh TV channel into global hit|url=https://www.ft.com/content/5b2e6596-c4f1-11e0-9c4d-00144feabdc0 |newspaper=The Financial Times}} (subscription required)</ref><ref>[http://www.theweek.co.uk/politics/3111/heroics-and-horror-stories-human-cost-riots "Heroics and horror stories: the human cost of the riots"]. ''The Week'', Aug 12, 2011. Venetia Rainey </ref> He provided live coverage of the [[2011 England riots]] within the West Midlands,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/pda/2011/aug/10/television-tvnews|title=How Sangat TV covered the Birmingham riots |author=Josh Halliday|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>[https://www.vice.com/en/article/interview-upinder-randhawa-sangat-tv-birmingham-riots-car-looting/ "It's Sangat TV's Upinder Randhawa!"]. Elektra Kotsoni, ''VICE International'', August 16, 2011 </ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-14493399|newspaper=BBC News|title=Sangat TV's guerrilla journalism wins fans amid riots|author=Caroline Gall|date=12 August 2011}}</ref><ref>[http://www.desiblitz.com/content/cost-of-riots-to-british-asians "Cost of Riots to British Asians"]. ''DESIBlitz'', </ref> spoke out against violence,<ref name="Johnson2011">{{cite book|author=Paul Johnson|title=The Bedside Guardian 2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kfrENQ5vTJwC&pg=RA5-PA14|date=6 December 2011|publisher=Guardian Books|isbn=978-0-85265-281-7|pages=5–}}</ref> and assisted police during the event. The Channel’s participation was commended by David Cameron in the House of Commons for its commitment to social responsibility.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=730942|newspaper=[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook India]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140908024916/http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=730942|archive-date=2014-09-08|title= UK Riots: Cameron Hails Sikh TV Channel's Coverage}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Live & raw: Sikh TV channel wins kudos for coverage |author=Ashis Ray |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-13/uk/29883975_1_news-channels-exclusive-footage-live-coverage |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919214319/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-13/uk/29883975_1_news-channels-exclusive-footage-live-coverage |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 September 2012 |date=13 August 2011 |work=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=14 August 2011}}</ref>

Randhawa went on to appear in ''Street Riots: The Live Debate'' on Channel 4. He was also featured in "10 Heroes of the London Riots" in New York’s [[Time (magazine)|Time]] Magazine.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2088386_2088390_2088400,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018232358/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2088386_2088390_2088400,00.html|url-status=live|archive-date=October 18, 2011|title=10 Heroes of the London Riots |author=Sonia Van Gilder Cooke|date=August 15, 2011|newspaper=Time Magazine}}</ref> In 2012 he appeared in a Punjabi film, ''Mirza – The Untold Story''.<ref name=express />

In 2013 Randhawa was a speaker at a Birmingham event to raise awareness of crimes against women in India.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-20905741 "India gang rape: Vigil for victim held in Birmingham"]. ''BBC'', 3 January 2013</ref>

Randhawa also covered sports events, including the international bodybuilding championship Sheru Classic. He was voted number 41 for DesiClub.com’s Top 50 Coolest Desis of 2011.{{cn|date=February 2017}} He has interviewed various celebrities for punjab2000. In 2016 he also appeared in the film ''Desi Munde'', released in October 2016.<ref>[https://www.filmipop.com/movies/desi-munde-movie-12731 "Desi Munde"]. ''Film Pop''</ref>

== References ==

{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite web|url=http://sangattelevision.org/|title=Sangat Television}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Randhawa, Upinder}}
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Living people]]

Upinder Randhawa - Revision history

Cornelius R: put up initial pg w/ refs