Ali Zafar talks to Aabhas Sharma about his Bollywood dreams and how he is more of a musician than an actor.
Ali Zafar could well be the first Pakistani hero in Bollywood. True, artists from across the border have done bit roles in films in India, and taken part in comedy shows and reality shows, but never played the male lead, except Zafar. After playing the lead in 2010’s surprise hit Tere Bin Laden, Zafar, who first made his mark as a singer in India seven years ago, is now busy with the promotion of his upcoming film, YashRaj’s Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. “It has been a hectic few weeks but I am thoroughly enjoying it,” says Zafar. In the film, Imran Khan is the hero and Zafar plays second fiddle to him. “I don’t think it works like that. It’s a good role and a chance to act in a YashRaj production,” he explains.
There’s good reason why Zafar is not bothered: his next film, London, Paris and New York, produced by Fox Star Studios has him in the main lead. Not only that, he is also composing the music for it as well as singing a few songs. “I am more a singer than an actor”, he says.
Hindi films happened just by chance as director Abhishek Sharma was looking for someone who could play the role of a Pakistani TV journalist in Tere Bin Laden, a film set in Pakistan but shot in India. “He thought I was perfect for the character and cast me,” says Zafar. He didn’t mind because though he looked content making music, he harboured acting ambitions as well. “I wanted to try my luck in acting and experience something different,” says he.
People might think it’s been an easy ride for Zafar but the reality is exactly opposite. He worked hard to be a musician, and made portraits and sold them to buy his first keyboard. But fame is something he doesn’t take too seriously. “I think there are bigger and better things in life than to seek fame. I just want to be doing something which I love and seek happiness,” he says. So, if you look up Zafar’s Twitter account, you will find that he talks about various things: music, films and even the political situation in Pakistan. For example, one of his recent tweets was: “If you want to change Pakistan then change the habit of being too lazy to vote. Must register your vote and go for it this time otherwise.” He feels strongly about the situation in his country and is sad to see what’s been happening in the last couple of years.
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan was offered to him soon after Tere Bin Laden had released, and he is really kicked about the film as the release date approaches. “It was great working with Katrina (Kaif) and Imran, both of them were terrific with me,” he says. He still makes music and spends time between India and Pakistan. His working in India hasn’t affected his fan following back home. “There are some who don’t like it but then creativity knows no borders; to each his own.”
Actor, musician and singer — doesn’t it get too taxing? “Not at all, especially after the kind of struggle I went through to reach here; it’s all fun,” he says. He has no plans of acting in the Pakistan film industry as of now and is happy to see where Hindi films take him. “I have been accepted warmly here both by the industry and fans, something which makes me very happy,” he says. A happy man surely makes good music and, perhaps, good films too.