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Shekhar Kapur shares his experience with racism as Rishi Sunak becomes Britain’s 57th PM: ‘I was beaten up because I dared to go out with a white girl’

Kapur studied Chartered Accountancy in the UK in the 1970s.

Shekhar Kapur shares his experience with racism as Rishi Sunak becomes Britain’s 57th PM: ‘I was beaten up because I dared to go out with a white girl’

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, who is known for helming such cult films as Mr. India, Masoom, Bandit Queen, and Elizabeth, congratulated Rishi Sunak on becoming the 57th Prime Minister of Britain, by recalling a couple of harrowing experiences of racism that he faced when he first went to the UK as a student.

Congratulating the new prime minister, Kapur took to his Twitter and wrote, “When I first went to the UK as a student, Indians were most likely seen sweeping the floors at Heathrow. Or ran corner shops.”


Recollecting how he faced racial discrimination by his own friends and was beaten up for going out with a white girl, the filmmaker said, “My friends randomly called me Abdul and I was beaten up because I dared to go out with a white girl.”

“Thank you, Rishi Sunak, you are part of a huge global shift,' Kapur concluded.

Shekhar Kapur studied Chartered Accountancy in the UK in the 1970s. He worked there for several years as a chartered accountant and management consultant.

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Tarang Hardikar and Kanan Gill mark south Asian presence in Soho Theatre’s Fringe 2026 line-up

Tarang Hardikar and Kanan Gill headline south Asian representation

Soho Theatre

Tarang Hardikar and Kanan Gill mark south Asian presence in Soho Theatre’s Fringe 2026 line-up

Highlights

  • Tarang Hardikar and Kanan Gill headline south Asian representation
  • Hardikar makes Edinburgh debut, Gill returns with a new show
  • Wider Fringe landscape also features British Asian names beyond Soho’s core programme
  • Soho Theatre continues push to platform Indian and international talent

A focused south Asian spotlight within a global programme

Among the 18 shows unveiled by Soho Theatre for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, two names stand out in terms of south Asian representation: Tarang Hardikar and Kanan Gill.

Their inclusion is not incidental. Soho Theatre has, in recent years, positioned itself as a key platform for Indian comedians entering the UK and global circuit, and the 2026 programme continues that trajectory.

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