01/07/2017 THE ICON INTERVIEW: BOY FROM THE 'HOOD - Newspaper - DAWN.

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THE ICON INTERVIEW: BOY FROM THE

'HOOD
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Photography: Ash Gupta & Austin Simpson | Hair: Sam Rodriguez | Makeup: Josiah Cracraft | Styling:
Shradha Arora for Bitton House of Fashion | Models: Anna Sergeevna & Sohni Ahmed | Assistant: Noemi Corona

Much like vampires that appear ageless, Ali Zafar is growing young. Thats
the first impression I got of him when I met him for a heart-to-heart about his
upcoming film. Time seems be in love with him he doesnt look very different
from when I first interviewed him almost 11 years ago. Ali admits hes been on
a very strict diet and exercise regimen all in preparation for his upcoming
film, Teefa in Trouble.

The interview took place in a meeting room at a local fivestar hotel. Were
occasionally interrupted by members of the staff who, while leaving, ask Ali if
they can take a photo with him. After the interview, he promises them.

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This isnt anything new. The first time I interviewed him, back in 2006 right
before his second album was coming out, the only time he had available to talk
was for a short coffee before, during and right after arriving at the airport to
catch a flight. Back then, in public places people would maintain a respectful
distance but someone would approach him occasionally and without breaking
off in mid-sentence, Ali would simply take the paper they had, give them an
autograph, and return it to them. It seemed almost routine.

Back then I had written how, When we start talking his eyes develop a sharp
focus and he transforms into a serious, focused person, quite unlike the
lightheaded, fun-loving guy we are used to watching on screen. Ali has an
uncanny ability to observe little details and has a knack for making insightful
observations that appear ironic most of the time. He is also a lot smarter than
he lets on.

Ali Zafar opens up about merging

movies with martial arts, working in India
and his new-found mellowness

He retains his tendency to become sombre while in conversation. The

difference is that there is a marked softness, coming across as thoughtful in his
approach now. Perhaps it is a natural by-product of having had more than a
decade of experience under his belt, or perhaps from being a father.

While I was working in India I was very conscious of the fact that this is not
my country, says Ali Zafar as we sit down for a chat. Pakistan is my country.
Things between India and Pakistan are very uncertain. Things can come to a
stop anytime. Which is why, contrary to popular perception, I never shifted my
base to India.

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It was while he was working on a Bollywood film called Chashme Baddoor (2013)

that Ali decided he was going to work on his first Pakistani film. He had
an idea

for a story. The first thing he did was call the ad film director Ahsan
Rahim. We really get along well, said Ali adding that when it came to creative
work, they have always been on the same wavelength.

We worked on that idea for a year and a half and then we discarded it, he
adds. Then I worked on another idea called Deosai. For 1520 days, I went to
the north to do my research, discover and feel the place now. And I felt its a
little early to invest so much money into filming action up there it will be
very difficult. So perhaps, for the first film, do something thats a little more
practical.

We started off with an idea to make an action comedy, then romance came
into play and then the songs. And hence Teefa in Trouble was born.

Does Ali think hes wellsuited to play, a

regular, excuse-my-use-of-the-word
paindu person? I can because Im a
Punjabi na, he responses, his accent
becoming thick and strong. I come
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from a mohalla in Lahore. Thats who I am

from inside. With time, you become a little
polished, but I know who I am and where I
come from. I know the
language, the streets, how people talk and
their mannerisms.

Set in androon shehr [inner city] Lahore, the movie centres on a character that
keeps finding himself in precarious situations and has to find a way out of
them. It also involves a lot of action. Does Ali think hes wellsuited to play, a
regular, excuse-my-use-of-the-word paindu person?

I can because Im a Punjabi na, he responses, his accent becoming thick and
strong. I come from a mohalla in Lahore. Thats who I am from inside. With
time, you become a little polished, but I know who I am and where I come
from. I know the language, the streets, how people talk and their

mannerisms.
The artist underwent a complete physical transformation for the film. Theres a
lot of action that finds the character fighting baddies and escaping through the
streets of Lahore. According to Ali, physically preparing for the role took
almost three months. I really cut down on everything, he says, I was very
particular about my diet and exercise. There was a time I was working out
twice a day once to go to the gym, the other for my martial arts training.
That really knackers you down.

That was hard, he says referring to learning marital arts. Gym was a piece of
cake compared to that.

How did his wife feel about with all of the time he committed to preparing for
this role before filming even began? She liked it, he laughs. What wife
doesnt like a six pack [abs]?

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That fitness was also required on the set because we were filming 16 hours a
day, he says. There were days when in the morning I would be required to do
my scenes and in the evening, I had to do the action.

It was a complete change in lifestyle altogether. I didnt see a lot of my

friends. No parties just simple, clean focus. It was like how a boxer would
start training for a fight.

They worked with both a local and foreign fight choreographer for the film. I
had so much fun! he says talking about doing the action sequences. To fight
and to dance are pretty much the same things, Ali stresses, as he demonstrates
his point by slowly and gracefully moving through a small sequence, counting
the numbers of each step as it progresses.

Theyve wrapped up the shoot in Lahore. The second phase of filming is

currently taking place in Poland. We wanted to have Eastern European
architecture in the film something that hasnt been seen before, says Ali.
You put a camera in London and everyone knows its London. Ive already
shot two films in London.

Does he struggle to adapt between Ali Zafar the singer and the actor? I think
its about striking that fine balance, he responds. There was another script in
the works that centred on being a musician but Ali refused to entertain that

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one. I dont want to do that because that will just have me play myself, he
says, Maybe later. Thats why I also chose Tere Bin Laden as my first film in
India, as opposed to another film [I had been offered in] which I wouldve
played a musician.

Eight films (and guest appearances in two others) in, and Ali is tired of playing
similar characters. Ive had this look of a romantic hero or a chocolate
hero, he says, seeming slightly embarrassed. Mein bore ho gaya hun uss
image say. Mujhay shave nahin karni [Im bored of that image. I dont want to
shave]. Teefa is unlike any character that Ive done before.

Ali is also producing the film and is quite optimistic about its outcome. Weve
edited about 50 percent of the film, he says. As far as my instincts go, since
the beginning of my career, from what Ive seen, its something that people will
get to see for the first time in Pakistani cinema whether its action or the way
its been shot. I cant wait for people to see it.

On Bollywood

Ali had been filming for Tere Bin Laden when the 2008 Mumbai Attacks took
place. Luckily, I only had two days of filming left, he related to me during an

interview back then. Quite a few media professionals working in India at that
time had to come back to Pakistan. What about him? The Indian media instantly
started thrashing Pakistan but on the ground level nothing changed, things were
still pretty normal for me, he had related.

This fallout was completely different from what happened last year after the
Uri attacks. Pressured by a right-wing political party in India, Pakistani actors
were banned from Bollywood. Caught in the middle of all of this were Fawad
and Mahira Khan. Did he feel a sense of dj vu watching how everything
unfolded?

My own brother Danyal was there, Ali relates. Hed been there for two
months prepping for a film with Yash Raj. He was being launched by them. He
was going to start filming in a week. My film Dear Zindagi was about to come

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out. Initially when this happened, one didnt know what to make of it and
when it was escalated to that level, I sat back and pondered [over it].

I realized that the difference between now and then because something
much bigger had happened before was the presence and emergence of social
media. Social media tends to escalate things.

But being an optimist, I always see a silver lining, he stresses. Things

happen at a certain time for a certain reason. Theres no point thinking and
wasting your energy in trying to figure out what happened. I always knew this
could happen one day. And as I was saying before was that we need to build
our own industry. My film was already in preproduction, I was already
thinking Pakistan.

It runs in the family

Ali Zafar has a younger brother and judging by the photos posted on his
Instagram (he has a whopping 102,000 followers already) account, good looks
run in the family.

Danyal is 15 years younger than me, says Ali. Ive almost raised him like a son. He
just amazes me and makes me feel very proud with the things he can do, the way he

thinks and the man that hes become.

Baby bro has also worked on the movie with his older brother. He studied
filmmaking from the New York Film Academy, relates Ali, He was with us
during the script and writing [process] as well. Someday hes going to be in
front of the camera. He needs to go through the grind, and know what these
people [the crew] feel like.

In terms of music, the older brother says his younger brother has a completely
different take than his. Hes into blues and jazz, says Zafar. Hes got a
different tonality entirely. Hes a good actor but music is his first thing.

Danyal grew up watching Ali become the personality that he is. Does he feel
Danyal takes inspiration from him? In the photos at least, the resemblance
between the two brothers is uncanny. He has his own distinct style, stresses
Ali. People have only seen photos of him, so he does look like me, he cant

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change that. But hes a different individual. So, when that Daniyal Zafar
comes out. People will see a whole new different side to him. I feel that in
many ways, hes more talented than I am.

Published in Dawn, ICON, June 25th, 2017

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