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Nurtas Adambay (born 14 December 1981) is a Kazakh actor, comedian and filmmaker. Known previously for his work as a KVN comedian and later for his acting and directing of various comedic projects, most notably Bride Sabina, he is the creator of the Nurtas Production studio.

Life and career

Born on 14 December 1981 in Dzhambul, Adambayev used to earn money breakdancing as a child. During these years, he would also visit his grandmother in the village Saudakent of Jambyl Region. As a result of the 1986 Jeltoqsan protests and its consequences, Adambayev's father Abay Adambayev resigned from law enforcement. Adambay's grandfather Baltabay Adambayev [kk] was a notable Kazakh historian and poet.

Adambay studied in the Kazakh Ablai Khan University and finished its political science degree with honors. During his studies, he became a member of the "Astana.kz" KVN team. The first notable work by Adambay was Nasha Kazasha (2008–2013), which was a Kazakh adaptation of Nasha Russia. There, he played various comedic roles and established himself as an actor.

After the success of Nasha Kazasha, Adambay created the Nurtas Production studio, which worked on commercials, comedy shows, TV series, and feature films. The initial successful projects of the studio included Running from the Aul (2011–2013) and its sequels, as well as KZlandia.

Bride Sabina (2014) was an exceptionally experimental project of Adambay, as he was the director, screenwriter, producer of the film, as well as the travesti actor of its eponymous main character, Bride Sabina. The International Film Festival for Documentary Short and Comedy Films, the Genre Celebration Film Festival, and the L’Officiel Awards, as well as the Kazakhstan Critics' Choice Awards rewarded Bride Sabina with its highest awards. Bride Sabina later went on to have sequels of its own, including Bride Sabina 2 (2016) and Bride Sabina 3 (2020). After the trilogy ended, Adambay refused to play any more female characters.

Outside of comedic films, Adambay's works also included dramas, most notably Taraz (2016) and Elevator (2018).

In the 2020s, Adambay created the Nuradam YouTube podcast, where he'd discuss the Quran with other Muslim personalities.

Controversies

In 2022, Adambay supported the ban of the Lightyear (2022) movie premiere in Kazakhstan because of a one-second homosexual kissing scene present. The movie's release in the country was later banned, as announced by Minister of Culture and Sports Dauren Abaev. According to Adambay himself, the petition regarding that has gained over 30 thousand votes. He claimed that seeing homosexual partners kiss would have "broken the psyche" of child viewers.

Adambay has also voiced his opposition to association football. He claimed that it harms both the player and the viewer, as the shorts worn by the players do not follow the Islamic clothing laws.

Legal disputes

On 1 August 2024, Adambay announced that the Astana Directorate of Religious Affairs has filed a lawsuit against him because he "quoted translations of the Holy Quran" on his social media. He was accused of violating the law on the Distribution of Religious literature and other materials of Religious content (Article 490 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) and it was noted that he could be fined $393 because of this. The exact reasoning for the lawsuit was Adambay's sharing of religious texts without being a certified representative of a religious organization, which is indeed a punishable offence. However the lawsuit was later moved indefinitely. Dimash Alzhanov, among others, however, did not believe Adambay would face any major repercussions.

Personal life

Adambay first got married in 2011, to Galiya, a graphic designer from Almaty. In December 2012, their first child and son Alisher was born. However, the family was said to have had marital problems and after living separately for some time, they got divorced.

In 2015, Adambay and Galiya got remarried. In 2021, Adambay went through depression because of family issues and through this became a lot more religious and got reunited with his family. In 2022, a daughter was born.

Politically, politologist Dimash Alzhanov described Adambay as a person "loyal to the regime".

Legacy

In 2012, Forbes featured Adambay in the TOP-3 of the most successful and richest Kazakh show business celebrities list. In 2015, he was awarded the "People's Favorite" award.

Filmography

Notes

1. Kazakh: Нұртас Адамбай, sometimes transliterated as Adambai; born Nurtas Abayevich Adambayev, Russian: Нуртас Абаевич Адамбаев, Kazakh: Нұртас Абайұлы Адамбаев, Nūrtas Abaiūly Adambaev, [no̙rˈtɑs ɑˈbɑjʊɫɤ ɑdɑmˈbɑjɪf]
2. The original language of the titles being Russian by default, unless stated otherwise
3. ^ Kazakh title
4. Махаббат (Mahabbat) here being a Kazakh word

References

1. Нуртас Адамбаев: о депрессии, жене, исламе, кредитах и как изменятся его фильмы on YouTube
2. ^ "Нуртас Адамбай: факты биографии и карьерные достижения". nur.kz (in Russian). 2023-12-04. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
3. ^ "Нуртас Адамбай — биография, личная жизнь, новости". 24smi.org (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-12-25.
4. ^ "Нуртас Адамбаев: фото, биография, фильмография, новости". vokrug.tv (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-12-25.
5. ^ Оспан, Фариза (2024-08-19). "Режиссера Адамбая судят за цитаты из Корана: что значит это дело для казахстанского общества?". cabar.asia (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-12-25.
6. "Фильм "Базз Лайтер" не покажут в казахстанском прокате. Из-за сцены с поцелуем персонажей женского пола". Радио Азаттык (in Russian). Radio Free Europe. 2022-07-14. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
7. ^ Овчинников, Евгений (2023-03-24). "Нуртас Адамбай: "Это не я отменил Базз Лайтера!"". esquire.kz (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-12-25.
8. "Семьи казахстанских КВНщиков" (in Russian). Comode. Archived from the original on 2018-01-02. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
9. "Нуртас Адамбаев: "Я не хотел быть воскресным папой"". TODAY.KZ (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2017-01-28. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
10. Нуртас Адамбаев: о депрессии, жене, исламе, кредитах и как изменятся его фильмы on YouTube
11. ^ "Адамбаев-Нуртас – новости по теме Адамбаев-Нуртас | Tengrinews". tengrinews.kz (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2017-02-14. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
12. ""Я — токал" — Адамбаев снимает новую комедию — новости кино". Tengrinews.kz (in Russian). 23 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-02-14. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
13. "Нуртас Адамбай приступил к съемкам фильма "Лифт". Казахстанское кино". brod.kz. Archived from the original on 2017-02-28. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
14. Смакова, Амина (2018-12-27). ""Кудалар" на большом экране". ktk.kz (in Russian). KTK. Retrieved 2024-12-26.

External links

• Nurtas Adambay at IMDb

• 21st-century Kazakhstani male writers
• 21st-century Kazakhstani male actors
• 21st-century Kazakhstani comedians
• Kazakhstani male comedians
• Kazakhstani comedy writers
• Kazakhstani male film actors
• Kazakh Ablai Khan University alumni