Adil Khan
| Adil Khan عادل خان | |
|---|---|
 A photo shoot with Morten Bendiksen (2006) | |
| Born |
3 February 1983 Oslo, Norway |
| Nationality |
 Norway |
| Occupation | Actor/Dancer |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Website | http://www.adil.no/ |
Adil Khan (Urdu: عادل خان, pronounced [ˈaːd̪ɪl ˈxaːn]; born 3 February 1983 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian dancer and actor of mixed Punjabi/Pashtun descent. Adil came to the limelight when he won Dansefeber,[1] (the Norwegian version of So You Think You Can Dance) hosted by TVNorge in 2006.
Life
Beginnings
Adil Khan was born in Oslo, Norway. In his early childhood, he lived at Munkelia. Later, his family moved to Grønland and then to an area close to Ullevål Stadion. Adil's father is from the Punjab province of Pakistan and mother is a Pashtun. Adil is the younger brother of singer, composer, film maker and human rights activist Deeyah Khan.[2]
Music and dance
Adil belongs to an art loving family. From Adil's childhood, his father has been an initiator of cultural activities in Norway, particularly being at the forefront of introducing workshops for Pakistani Classical Music, as well as being a participating figure in literary and art circles. Adil's father is responsible for arranging music concerts and introducing Norwegian audiences to the music and creative traditions of Pakistan. Because of his father's activities in music and the arts, Adil started learning music from a very early age like his sister Deeyah.
Though Adil quit music after a few years, his early music education prepared him for his acting and performing career in musical theatre in his later life.
In 2009 Adil was invited to sing Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" for Auma Obama, the sister of President Barack Obama. The programme was arranged by NRK1 in connection with fund raising campaign for Africa.[3]
In 1997, Adil experienced a newfound interest for breakdancing which he formed into his art form. In 1999, together with his friends, he founded the dance group "Floor Knights". He put his soul into breakdance, and soon after distinguished himself among the other B-boys. Adil has also lived in Copenhagen where he was a member of the elite breakdance group "Natural Effects". Adil has won several dance competitions in Norway and abroad, like "B-boy Rumble 1999" (Norwegian championship), "Scandinavian Battle of the Year 2001" (Scandinavian championship), and "Time 2 Battle" in Malmö (Scandinavian Championship). But his real breakthrough came in 2006 when he won the Norwegian national dance competition Dansefeber in its inaugural season. This victory gave him a national celebrity status. Adil wanted to further improve his dancing skills, therefore, right after winning season 1 of Dansefeber, he left for Los Angeles, where he became a member of Quest Crew (winners of the third season of America's Best Dance Crew).
Actor
After winning Dansefeber, Adil started receiving offers from national Norwegian theaters for acting jobs. His acting debut came in 2006 at Oslo Nye Teater as Bernardo in West Side Story. Soon after, Adil left for Los Angeles. But the acting offers kept on coming which brought him back to Norway in 2007. The first play, after his arrival was The Nutcracker which followed by several other productions. Adil received critical acclaim for his performance in The Jungle Book as Mowgli, which got him the nomination for Hedda Award in the best male role category. Adil is the youngest actor in Norway to ever be nominated for this prestigious theatre award.[4]
Miscellaneous
- Adil Khan was a presenter for entertainment program named Adils hemmelige dansere( Adil's secret dancers). This was a two series program presented at NRK1 in 2013 and 2014. Adils hemmelige dansere was a Norwegian version of Ashley Banjo's Secret Street Crew. Both series were nominated for Gullrutenaward as a best reality program. [5]
- Adil Khan served as a judge on Norske Talenter (series 4) during 2011 and (Series 5) 2012.[6]Norske Talenter (Norwegian Talents) is a Norwegian version of Got Talent series. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians and other performers of all ages competing for the specified prize. The programme is being presented by TV 2 since 2008.
Acting career
Film/TV
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Johan Falk | Pramit | Charlotte Brändström | |
| 2011 | Taxi | Javar | Nomination for Norwegian TV Award Gullruten as the Best Male Actor [7] | Ulrik Imtiaz Rolfsen |
| 2010 | Heart to Heart | Adil | Marit Åslein |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Spring Awakening[8] | Moritz | Kjersti Horn | |
| The magic city (Nor:Trollbyen) | Hans | Catrine Telle | ||
| 2009 | The Jungle Book | Mowgli | Nomination for Hedda Award as the Best Male Actor [9] | Erik Ulfsby |
| 2008 | @lice[10] | Amo | Filmed and telecasted in 2009 by NRK2 | Kjersti Alveberg |
| 2007 | The Nutcracker | The Nutcracker | Steen Koerner | |
| 2006 | West Side Story | Bernardo | Svein Sturla Hungnes |
Honours and awards
- In 2010, he was assigned as goodwill ambassador for UNICEF Norway.
- In 2008, Adil received Oslo City art award at Oslo City Hall by Oslo Municipality for his contributions in Oslo's artistic life.
- In 2006-2007, Adil Khan became the first goodwill ambassador for FRI (an anti smoking and anti drugs campaign initiated by Norwegian Directorate for Health and Social Affairs).[11]
- On 31 May 2006, Adil was awarded by Norwegian Cancer Society for his work among the youth.[12] This award landed Adil in the company of national icons such as Gerd-Liv Valla, Dagfinn Høybråten and Gro Harlem Brundtland.
References
- ↑ Asle Hansen (20 March 2006). "Adil ble dansekongen" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet.no. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
- ↑ Camilla Bjørn (31 January 2006). "Deepikas lillebror til dansefinale" (in Norwegian). vg.no. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
- ↑ "Adil Khan singing "man in the mirror" for Auma Obama". youtube.com. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
- ↑ "De nominerte til Heddaprisene 2008/2009" (in Norwegian). Idalou.no. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
- ↑ Mina Knudsen (9 May 2014). "Gullruten 2014: Her er vinnerne" (in Norwegian). p3.no. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- ↑ Anders Grønneberg (19 November 2010). "Adil to "Norwegian talents»" (in Norwegian). dagbladet.no. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- ↑ Catherine Gonsholt Ighanian and Atle Jorstad (29 March 2012). "Se hvem som kan vinne Gullruten-statuett" (in Norwegian). vg.no. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
- ↑ Mona Levin (2 January 2010). "Skjønne, vonde ungdom" (in Norwegian). oslopuls.aftenposten.no. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
- ↑ IdaLou Larsen (17 June 2009). "De nominerte til Heddaprisene 2008/2009" (in Norwegian). idalou.no. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
- ↑ Inger-Margrethe Lunde (25 February 2008). "Kjærlighet i cyberspace" (in Norwegian). oslopuls.aftenposten. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
- ↑ Anders Fjellestad (31 October 2006). "Adil til kamp mot røyken" (in Norwegian). tvedestrandsposten.no. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
- ↑ Guro Holmene (31 May 2007). "Adil er Norges røykfrie forbilde" (in Norwegian). Pub.tv2.no. Retrieved 17 June 2010.