Gurdeep Singh(I)

Gurdeep Singh belongs to the famous Ahluwalia clan of Lahore Punjab. His paternal side of the family was wealthy land owners. His maternal grandfather was a commissioner of Police in Lahore. During the Indian & Pakistan partition, his family was forced to flee in the middle of the night in the back of a truck. After arriving in India, his parents settled in Agra, near the Taj Mahal where Gurdeep was born into a family with two older sisters and one older brother. His father had joined the Indian railways as a Carriage Inspector. His father also fought along side the British army during the World War 11 in Burma. Being the son of a railway official Gurdeep traveled a lot with the family. He never stayed in one place for more then two years. After his father's retirement, his older brother brought the family to Bombay (present-day Mumbai). In 1960 at the age of 16, Gurdeep graduated from high school in Bombay. In his senior year of high school, Gurdeep had started his fascination with the Bombay film studios. Soon he was writing about film stars for popular film magazines. He also started publishing short stories in major literary publications. His older brother was concerned about Gurdeep's exposure to the film industry at such a young age. To give him solid grounding, his brother put him in the prestigious Sir J.J. School of Arts. During Sir J.J. days, Gurdeep started furthering his name by establishing himself as a photojournalist - being published in major publications of India. During his college days, he received the impressive invitation to read his short stories on All-India Radio, Bombay.He graduated in 1967 with a degree in applied Arts and a diploma in Fine Arts. Post graduation, Gurdeep started the advertising firm Studio CAS, serving Bombay's publishing and entertainment corporations. Gurdeep's big break came in 1969, as a leading man playing a Sikh in full beard and turban. This was historic for the Indian film Industry. In this film, Uski Roti, Gurdeep won rave reviews in the media as he played a tough hard-drinking bus driver, who had a wife in the village and a mistress in the city. Overall, in spite of the critical acclaim, it was not a good experience for Gurdeep because of the double-talk and back-stabbing he experienced. Soon after, Gurdeep lost interest in the Indian film industry. He stopped writing and taking pictures, but threw himself into painting seriously. In early 1971, Gurdeep sold everything, left India and arrived in the United States. In America, Gurdeep continued with his painting and exhibited around New York, New Jersey and for a brief time in Bombay. During this time Gurdeep worked as an Art Director for three New York City firms. In 1989, Gurdeep Singh started a New York City based advertising and marketing firm to serve national and international companies.

In 2002, an acquaintance recommended Gurdeep for a small TV role and this was Gurdeep's re-entry into the film business.Gurdeep made the decision to close his advertising and marketing firm in order to concentrate full time on his acting career. Gurdeep is a proud Sikh. He takes to heart the teachings of The Ten Gurus and the Guru Granth Sahib. He is also a proud father of two girls and three boys. He calls them his "Panj Piyare" (the first five Sikhs baptized by Guru Gobind Singhji.) Gurdeep lives with his family in New York City.