Shahir 'Shaz' Chundra (born 27 May 1980), is a South African

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n descent. He is best known for the roles in the television serials ''Stellenbosch'', ''Professionals'' and ''The World Unseen''.

Personal life

He was born on 27 May 1980 in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

, South Africa to an Indian family.

Career

He started acting at the age of 5 as a child actor. At the age 17, he started a degree in filmmaking at

AFDA, The School for the Creative Economy AFDA is a South African private Higher Education institution that offers higher certificates, undergraduate, and postgraduate degrees in film, television, performance, business innovation and technology, radio and podcasting, and creative wri ...

in Johannesburg. After graduation, he directed popular South African SABC youth culture shows including; ''Street Journal'' and ''Kasi 101 and Noted''. During this period, he worked as a writer of South African sitcoms: ''My Perfect Family'' and ''Majakhatata Records''. In 2011 he moved to USA and studied acting at the

New York Film Academy New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a Private college, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit film school and Drama school, acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles metropolitan ar ...

. He became the content director on ''Survivor South Africa Champions'' and ''Masterchef Season 3''. Then he became the Head of Content on Power Couple South Africa. As a Series Director, he made several notable programs such as ''Reality Check and Bootcamp Msanzi Celebrity Edition'' and ''Zavion season 1''. He is also a musician who worked as the lead singer of the rock band, 'MadLove', where he participated in 3 online number 1 singles. In 2005, he appeared in the television serial ''Isidingo'' where he played the role ''Officer Brown'' in two episodes. The show became highly popular and continued until 2012. He also made the acting appearance in the serials: ''7de Laan'' and ''Entabeni''. In 2014, he starred in the Emmy award-winning international series ''

Homeland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...

season 4 Season 4 may refer to: * "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock'' See also * * Season One (disambiguation) * Season 2 (disambiguation) Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album), 2014 * ''2econd Season'', an album ...

, where he played the role 'Infantry Major' in the episode " Krieg Nicht Lieb". In 2017, he played the lead villain, 'Raj Pillay' in the serial ''Bedford Wives'' aired on SABC 3. In the same year, he acted in the film ''An Act Of Defiance''. In 2018, he appeared in the South African Indian action crime film ''

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

''. He played the supportive role of 'Parvez' in the film, which later received positive reviews. The film was also screened at the 62nd

BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the BFI estimated that around 240 fe ...

and Africa in Motion Film Festival in October 2018. In 2019, he acted in the '' 3 Days to Go'' and played the supporting role 'Roy'. The film had its theatrical release on 25 January 2019. In 2019, he became the Series Director on television series ''The Bachelor''.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chundra, Shahir Living people South African people of Indian descent South African male film actors South African male television actors People from Durban South African television directors 1980 births Male actors of Indian descent