# Nurtas Adambay

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, Jambyl Region. As a result of the 1986 Jeltoqsan protests and its aftermath, 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). Another notable travesti role of Adambay was his role as the main character of Matchmakers (2018). After the Bride Sabina 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 present one-second homosexual kissing scene. The movie's release in the country was later banned, as announced by the 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 proper 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 any religious organization, which was 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 remarried. In 2021, Adambay went through depression because of family issues, but seemed to have recovered by becoming a lot more religious and thus reunited with his family. In 2022, a daughter of his 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 list of the most successful and wealthy Kazakh show business celebrities. In 2015, he was awarded the "People's Favorite" award.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Original title | Role | Type | Notes |
| 2008–2012 | Nasha Kazasha | Наша Казаша | several roles | comedic TV series | |
| 2009 | The Interesting Radio | Қызық радиосы | | comedic TV series | |
| 2009 | Qairat is the champion and a virgin number one | Кайрат — чемпион, или Девственник номер один | Serik | comedic film | |
| 2009 | Open the door, I am Happiness! | Откройте дверь — я счастье! | Baqyt | comedic series | |
| 2010 | Cocktail for a star | Коктейль для звезды | Clipmaker | comedy | |
| 2010 | Snatch | Рывок | Commentator | film | |
| 2011 | Running from the Aul | Побег из аула | Erbol Äpşiwberov (Apshuberov) | comedic series | |
| 2012 | Running from the Aul 2 | Побег из аула-2 | Erbol Äpşiwberov (Apshuberov) | comedic series | |
| 2012 | Kzlandia. Reboot | KZландия. Перезагрузка | several roles | comedic TV series | |
| 2013 | Running from the Aul 3 | Побег из аула-3 | Erbol Äpşiwberov (Apshuberov) | comedic series | |
| 2014 | Teachers | Преподы | Marat | comedic series | |
| 2014 | Bride Sabina | Келинка Сабина | Bride Sabina | comedic film | also director |
| 2015 | Bride Sabina 2 | Келинка Сабина-2 | Bride Sabina | comedic film | also director |
| 2015 | A Wedding for three | Свадьба на троих | Timur | comedic film | |
| 2015 | Running from the Aul: Operation 'Love' | Побег из аула: Операция Махаббат | Erbol Äpşiwberov (Apshuberov) | comedic film | also director |
| 2016 | Taraz | Тараз | Aidar | drama film | also director |
| 2017 | A Kazakh girl | Қазақ аруы | cameo appearance | comedic mini-series | |
| 2017 | Elevator | Лифт | — | psychological drama film | only director |
| 2018 | I am the groom | Я — жених | Timur | comedic film | also director |
| 2018 | Matchmakers | Құдалар | Jannette Nurlybaeva | comedic film | also director |
| 2019 | Akim | Аким | Azamat | comedic film | also director |
| 2022 | Bride Sabina 3 | Келинка Сабина-3 | Bride Sabina | comedic film | also director |