Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 9, 2015)

Ali Zafar has gifted a four-bedroom villa in Lahore, spread over 15,000 square feet, to his wife Ayesha. Mirror (February 24) had earlier reported that Ayesha had given birth to their daughter, Alyza, and the dream house is the actor's return gift to his better half.

"It's been under construction for over three years. We've just moved in a few months back. Ayesha was really touched by the gift and has done the interiors herself with a little bit of help from me. We've kept the decor modern, classy and minimal. We have installed music systems which will play all the time," Ali informs excitedly.

The villa has an indoor swimming pool bang in the centre. Every room has an attached terrace and a view to the pool. And the basement has been converted into Ali's recording studio.

"I come from a modest background. My parents were professors and we used to live with my grandparents in a small room. So, like everyone else, I have been wishing for a house like this for a long time and been working hard towards it," admits Ali, adding that his parents live in the adjacent bungalow. "I'm very close to my family and wanted them to be near me."

Would he want to buy a property in Mumbai? "Mumbai has been kind to me but I don't think as a Pakistani national I could buy property there. I visit the city, do my work and come back. This is my home," he signs off.

Ali Zafar takes a break from B-town to set up a production house in a bid to leave behind 'creative footprints'
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 23, 2015)

Ali Zafar made a sparkling debut with the indie-film, Tere Bin Laden and followed it up with the commercial hit, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, to briefly become Bollywood's blue-eyed boy. However, four years and two flops-Total Siyaapa and Kill Dill later, the Pakistani import is back in his home-country for some much-needed "introspection".

"When your film fails, it's not a great space to be in," he admits, speaking to Mirror from Pakistan. "But my happiness doesn't depend on the success of a film because that barometer is bound to fluctuate."

Ali, who has moved into his dream home, which he built brick-by-brick, insists that he is having the time of his life. "I'm sipping tea by the pool, my newborn baby daughter is playing around with her mummy (his wife Ayesha) by my side. What more could I want?" he asks dreamily.

But, it's not just all play and no work. The actor has just launched a production house and will produce films in collaboration with Indian artistes. "The first one is an action-comedy scripted by me. I'll also be acting in it," he reveals, pointing out that both in India as well as in Pakistan, stories are moving away from campus romances. "I want to be a part of that transition and make some landmark films. The idea is also to bridge the Indo-Pak divide through cinema."

He points out that he already has a recording studio which has enough place for not just for musicians but also young writers to brainstorm. "I want to leave behind some solid creative footprints," he asserts.

Meanwhile, his fellow countryman, Fawad Khan, who made a impressive debut last year with the Sonam Kapoor-starrer Khubsoorat, has signed up with top filmmakers like Karan Johar and Farhan Akhtar. Has Fawad stolen his thunder?

"God has made thunders for everyone," he laughs. "I've experienced the joys of being a popular Hindi-film actor and I'm okay with Fawad having his day in the sun. Just because he's arrived, I don't have to go and sign six films."

The reason he's doing fewer Bollywood films is because he wants to be by his wife's side and see their newborn grow up. "It is an incredible feeling!" he exults. "I've done up this house for the kids. I'm happy and happy for other people's success. I'm not just a lightening that comes with the thunder, I am the thunder itself," he concludes.

MUMBAI MIRROR (February 24, 2015)

Sunanya Suresh and Kasmin Fernandes (BOMBAY TIMES; February 24, 2014)


Ali Zafar and Yaami Gautam are like yin and yang. For Ali’s cheeky answers, you have Yaami’s bashful hesitation. The Total Siyapaa co-stars, who play the lead in the Indo-Pak rom-com, got into a no holds barred chat, where they spoke about temptations, crushes and dirty jokes, apart from music and their camaraderie. Excerpts from a chat:
 
Total Siyapaa is about meeting the parents. Ali, how was it when you met your wife Ayesha’s parents for the first time? 
Ali: I was very lucky that my father-in-law was a big fan of music and movies. Actually his dad used to make movies. Jab unse mila and he found out that I can sing, he was overjoyed. In fact, kya hua ki they didn’t know that we were dating. So unhone kaha ki chalo gaana-vaana karte hai, doston ko bulate hain. Unhone mera gaane suna hi nahi tha usse pehle. Toh ho sakta tha ki main bahut bura singer hota and woh sab log aa jaate. But that night I sang on a little keyboard and people were sitting till 4 am and all his friends enjoyed a lot. And then I remember charming her mother by making a big lifesize portrait of her. I still have that. They’re wonderful people.
 
You sing and act like some of the old time Bollywood actors. Do you think it’s a revival of the trend?
Ali: Initially we had KL Saigal sahab. But he was a proper singer. Shaukeen gaane wale nahin thay. Toh wohi hero hi thay. Then Kishore Kumar, he was a proper singer, trained. Abhi jo hai, it’s really good because the kind of cinema that is coming, it’s becoming real and authentic also. Har tarah ki filmein aa rahi hain. So, in that space, if someone is singing, its good, like Ayushmann sang his own songs, then there’s Farhan Akhtar. Hrithik Roshan and Abhay Deol also sang Senorita. It adds authenticity. In the West, if you see musicals, Val Kilmer sang Jim Morrison songs for The Doors.
 
Yaami, can you sing?
Yaami: I don’t think I’m a bad singer, but I’m not trained. I definitely cannot compare myself to the likes of Ali Zafar. But, I’d love to give it a try someday. Not to bring out an album or something, just to sing a song for myself, maybe.
Ali: She has a nice voice. She’s always humming. I’ve heard her when we used to sit together. Achhi aawaz hai uski, waise hi sharmati rehti hai.

Were there any India-Pakistan debates on your set?
Yaami: Even if he wants to, do you think he can here? Jokes apart, I don’t think we’ve ever had any debates. He’s one of the most loved stars in India; as much as he’s back home. It’s almost like his second home.
 
In real life, Yaami would you ever think of marrying someone from another country?
Ali: Or in fact, in real life, would you like to get married?
Yaami: Yes, I’d like to get married one day for sure. And yes, I don’t mind. These characters in today’s times are closer to how we think and react. So, yeah, why not, definitely.
 
What kind of a guy do you want?
Ali: (chuckles loudly) Ali, what kind of a guy do you think she would marry?
Yaami: That’s a good question. Yes, Ali, tell me.
Ali: Maine iske baare mein bahut socha hai. I think he’ll be a nice cool guy, chilled out…
Yaami: Basically, whatever I’m, he should be just the opposite, that’s what he’s trying to say.
Ali: You’re not nice and cool?
Yaami: No, I don’t think I’m. I’m too nice, he needs to be just nice.
Ali: He needs to make you explore stuff, which you are reserved about, mostly.
 
What does ‘stuff’ mean?
Yaami: I have no idea. Throughout the film and interviews, I’ve always maintained a straight face with no comments.
Ali: I’m always scandalising her. On the sets, Kirron Kherji and I were cracking jokes; yeh bahut scandalised ho jaati thi. Yeh kehti thi aap log aisi baatein kaise kar sakte hain.
Yaami: Now I’ve kind of made peace with it.
 
Any cross-border crushes you guys had?
Yaami: Can I say honestly?
Ali: Don’t say Ali Zafar while growing up.
Yaami: Shahid Afridi. I even remember his birthday, November 27, one day before mine. I remember the time I saw him bowl and his hair flying in the air and all of that.  
Ali: My childhood crushes were Parveen Babi and Zeenat Aman. I used to also sing that song,  Angrezi Mein Kehti Hai Ki I Love You… I used to think I was Amitabh Bachchan and sing songs to her.




Ali, have you encountered any biases in the industry?
Ali: So far, nothing. Agar honge toh I’m not aware of them. It’s been pretty smooth.  

Ali, there’s a scene in The Reluctant Fundamentalist where the Pakistani family discusses that if someone wants to be an actor and wear bold clothes, they should go to India. Is that how Bollywood is perceived there?
Ali: I’ll show you some films from Peshawar (Pakistan) so you’ll understand what bold means. Look at fashion shows and shoots. I don’t know how this has come. I think people feel wahan theek hai par yahan nahi hai. There are different opinions and hence, there exists a dichotomy that is present everywhere I think.
 
Have you ever encountered anyone with the not-so-liberal ideology?
Ali: Of course. We don’t really get to communicate with people as much. But sometimes we read comments on forums or on articles, where I get to see people like these exist too. But then you think it might take time for them to evolve and they all have their points of view, which I understand.  

Your film is a romantic comedy. Do you see that the portrayal of India-Pakistan relationships in cinema is also changing?
Ali: In that regard, this movie is a first of its kind. Someone had said to me, why is it always that the guy is a Hindu from India and the girl is a Muslim from Pakistan and I said, see now here’s our film. Minds are opening up, avenues are opening up today.
 
Your favourite India-Pakistan romance film?
Ali: I like Veer-Zaara.
Yaami: Veer-Zaara. Our film has no idea of dramatising; ours is a different take on the whole situation.
 
Does it feel like a sense of déjà vu? Your first film was with Ayushmann who sings, second with Ali…
Yaami: No, Ajay sir’s broken it, I don’t think he’s a great singer. He’s a fabulous actor, he’s one of the biggest stars. I’ve told him that in fact. But, I’ve never heard him sing.
 
Who’s a better singer?Ayushmann or Ali?
Ali: Ab bol do. Jo kal jawab diya tha wahi de do. Har interview mein different answers nahin de sakte.
Yaami: Ali Zafar is a fantastic. If I have to compare, I’ll have to say Ali. I’ve heard his songs before Total Siyapaa in films and I’m a huge fan of Coke Studio Pakistan.
 
How quickly did Ali and you hit it off?
Ali: Party sharty yeh karti nahi hai. Aur time waise bhi nahi tha London mein party karne ka. So, there was this one night when I’d said, ‘Listen guys, we’ve worked too hard’ because we were shooting from 7 am till 9 pm. So I said, Yaami tum London ghumi ho? Yeh maine usse poocha koi ek hafte baad. Maine kaha London dekha hai tumne? Yeh kehti hai nahin. Maine kaha tum shooting ke baad kya karti ho wapas jaake? Yeh bolti hai main kamre mein hoti hoon. Maine kaha kamre mein kyun hoti ho tum? Kiske saath hoti ho? Kehti hai akele hi.
Yaami: You are improvising a lot. I used to go for a jog in Hyde Park every day and go to Oxford Street alone.
Ali: You tell me that you went there after one week. You said that I am in the room, I don’t know where to go.
Yaami: Overall, that is true.
Ali: That is true. So, I said I will take you out tonight, just come with my friends and me. We had a really good time. I remember she laughed throughout.
Yaami: I had a really great time. I still remember his friend’s name (Adnan). It was crazy!
Ali: Aur wahan pe when we got together, strangely one of my exgirlfriends from 10 years back also came. Maine kahan theek ho tum? Jo thi woh maa ban chuki thi lekin woh phir bhi modelling karti hai.
Yaami: Ali, she’s a good looking girl.
Ali: Yeah, she’s nice. But woh thodi possessive type thi.
 
Ali, your wife is not possessive given your popularity?
Ali: Nahin yaar, that’s why she is my wife... up till now. She’s very secure.
Yaami: Main phir se bolun that she’s very sweet?
Ali: Every TV interview jab main Yaami ke saath thodi chemistry banane ki koshish karta hoon ke film bech lo, thoda chemistry bana lo, she says, ‘Ali’s wife is so nice. She came onto the set. His son is so sweet and I used to play with him.’ Main kehta hoon achcha ji ji. Kis tarah creative ho gaye ho yaar.
Yaami: Arrey, you don’t know. This is my way of having fun. I don’t drink. I don’t go partying. How will I have fun in life? That’s how I have fun.
Ali: Yeah talking about my wife, she’s amazing. She’s an angel. She says that I am an alien and I say she’s an angel. Because she says that tum jo cheezein kehte ho aur kar jaate ho woh kis tarah ho sakta hai. Aur agla banda usse sahi bhi hota hai, and you convince the other person ki yeh theek hai, it is okay. So I think I am very lucky to have a wife like that.
Yaami: And she’s very pretty.
 
Ali, you have worked with some beautiful actresses. Aren’t there any temptations?
Ali: Yes, there are. Bas phir Buddha ko follow kar lete hain. Aur kya karein?
Yaami: Ali, your wife’s very good.
Ali: Buddha didn’t go after the temptation, he controlled it till he died. Hoti hain temptations but I feel awkward going beyond a certain... temptations toh hoti hain. Har kisi ko hoti hongi nahin toh abnormal hai. But it’s how you deal with it. So I deal with it in a very professional manner. Maine apne aap ko sikha diya hai ki kaise daba loh uss cheez ko.
 
Political tension between two countries always affects actors and singers from both sides of the border. Does it upset you because there must be many who say why do we need Pakistani singers coming to India and vice versa? Do these kind of incidents bother you?
Ali: It can, in the sense that artistes harmless se log hote hain... jyaada tar toh. Unko apna art karna hota hai, gaana gaana hota hai. Apna gaana logon ko sunana hota hai. Thode bahut paise banane hote hain. So sabse pehle because woh limelight mein hote hain toh unko target karke yeh cheezein register karni aasan hoti hain toh I think aisa hona nahin chahiye. Kuch log jo ke jaane jaate hain aur jaane gaye hain iss wajah se ki ye woh hain. Ab yeh falana banda kuch aur nahin hai, bas yeh singer hai ya actor hai. Bas uska yehi kaam hai aur uska kaam nazar aa raha hai toh unke liye thoda kuch special ho jaaye toh achhi baat hai.

Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; February 23, 2014)

Ali Zafar considers himself an artiste who equally enjoys sketching, singing, writing, acting and performing on stage. He had recently told us in an interview how he started his career drawing sketches for making just Rs 500 at the famous five-star PC Hotel in Lahore. Of course, at that time, word had gone around and girls started visiting PC to get themselves sketched by this good-looking guy. One of the girls turned out to be his now wife Ayesha. Ali and Yaami Gautam visited the Bombay Times office on Friday, where we decided to test Ali’s claim of being able to sketch anybody. We asked Ali amongst the actresses who he would choose to sketch if given a choice and he said, “I think Deepika has nice features, big eyes. Yaami has asked me to sketch her as her wedding gift.” While we don’t know when Yaami would get married, we decided to test Ali on his sketching skills on Yaami. Ali while sketching Yaami said, “You have very pretty ears.” Believe it or not, he made this sketch of Yaami in less than 20 minutes, that, too, with Yaami talking, making it that much tougher for the person sketching. Well Ali, you passed with loving colours.

Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; February 15, 2014)

Ali Zafar, 33, is an extremely kind-hearted man, who is the happiest when he is jamming or creating music. He is so sensitive that there was a time he asked Allah to grant him more hausla without which he felt he would die. He’s always in a quest for knowledge and is a recluse, who likes his own company. While he enjoys the process of creating, he finds the need to market himself painful. He thinks a lot and is deeply spiritual. Ahead of his upcoming film Total Siyapaa, he talks to Bombay Times about his kind-hearted wife Ayesha, his need to give back to society and why Pakistanis crave to give love. Excerpts:

Let’s talk about your life in Pakistan before becoming a star?
My parents were professors and I was born and brought up in Lahore. My father was also a painter, who retired as the chairman of the Fine Arts department of his college. My mother was the first scholar in Library Science and they both always pushed me to read the newspaper. As a kid, I too would paint and was introverted and shy. My parents built a small house with a lot of difficulty in an upcoming posh area of Lahore by borrowing money from friends. We were the only family in that area, who did not have a car. There was a big park in front of the house where I would play cricket and I thought I wanted to become a cricketer. But when I was about 14, they realised that we could not afford to live there and so we moved out into a house given by the university to my dad. I felt sad leaving my cricket and friends. I asked my dad, ‘How much money do we need to live there?’ He said, ‘Rs 10,000.’ And I told him, ‘I will make that money.’ When I was 16, I wanted to become a model, but we did not know anyone from the glamour world. So when I was 18, I started making portraits at the PC Hotel lobby that is a prestigious fivestar hotel there. I would make quick 15- minute sketches and make Rs 500. My day would start with getting up at 6 am to go to college, then the gym, then straight to PC till midnight. I would then go home and crash to get up again at six in the morning. But from that time till date, every single penny I earn I give it to my dad. While I was sketching at PC, the top photographer of Pakistan saw me and offered me to model. I then did a bit of acting jobs on TV, but realised that basically I wanted to sing. From the age of 16, I was the vocalist of this underground band that was into the alternative kind of music, where we played English music and covers of bands like Pink Floyd. On our first concert, we could not get the crowd. I was also the manager and while we hired the hall, I realised that we had forgotten to take the permissions. I also wanted to create my own music. For four years, I continued working at PC and collected money till I made my first song Channo. Channo changed things for me overnight and I became a star in Pakistan as it became the biggest hit. It took me time to deal with becoming a star from an ordinary boy. I won all the awards and got signed up by big brands like Pepsi. My dream was that one day, I would step on to stage and there would be an ocean of people who would sing along with me and that dream came true with my first concert.
 
What made you move into films? 
Singers back then, were the movie stars of Pakistan. There was a time when, on one weekend, I would perform as many as 11 shows. By the age of 27, I had toured the world and had seen all the screeching of girls in the audience and the big entourage in international shows. I was doing a show in Norway in front of 50,000 people and I remember I felt bored on stage with singing. I knew that it meant I needed to do something else and thought, ‘Why not movies?’ This was the time when Atif Aslam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan had made a name for themselves in India, but I wanted to do something different. I thought there was no one who had come from Pakistan and become a successful actor in India and I wanted to become one. I then got three offers from Bollywood, one was a film about a rockstar, one a romantic comedy and the third was Tere Bin Laden. I was creatively a little non-conventional and took the not so obvious option of Tere Bin Laden.
 
You are married and yet you choose to give all your money to your father.
We have now shifted back to the same house, where I stayed as a child and live there together with my parents and my two brothers. My wife Ayesha, son Azaan and I stay on the first floor while my parents and brothers stay on the ground floor. Now, it has become very small for us, so we are constructing a bigger house where we can all live together. I have no idea what money I have and where it goes. I feel money is good for all your needs and all of that, but the obsession with money stresses me out. As long as my basic needs are fulfilled, I don’t care. It’s also a very convenient structure for me as my father manages everything. My wife is extremely non-materialistic and is happy to get a monthly pocket money from him. I have a joint account with him, but he either invests the money or donates it to a few charities where I want the money to go. My father is the conventional good person who has never done anything wrong in his life. He is calm, complacent and intellectual. I have always questioned many things, right from a young age and would read history, philosophy and religion to get my answers. Strangely, from 18 to 28, I could not enjoy my work even though I was leading life with so much fame and money. I have always been thinking about other things related to society and humanity, as to why do we behave like this, where do we go from here, how can I make a difference. I feel I am made for something bigger and not just to entertain, sing and dance. I don’t know what that would be but personally, I feel that a life spent only for your own aspirations and dreams is not a life that I would like to spend. I want to be remembered as a person who made a difference in something bigger and better. My father always told me, ‘Agar aapke dil mein reham nahi hai, aapke sur mein nahi ho sakta.’
 
Talk about your wife Ayesha?
She had also come to get her portrait made from me at PC when I was 20. Word had gone around that there is this really cute guy at PC making portraits, so girls would come in to get their portraits made from me. I got married to her when I was 29. I can’t say that I was loyal for those nine years but post marriage, I have been very loyal. She is an exceptional woman and extremely kind-hearted. I had always thought that my wife, more than anything else, should be a kind-hearted human being who would make my son a good human being. She is selfless, unbiased, honest, non- judgemental, mature and makes me a better person everyday. She is the only woman who has seen my journey from zero to hero and knows the real me. I love her the most in the world.
 
What did India mean to you being a Pakistani?
As a child, India was Bollywood. My father speaking about Dilip Kumar and we watching Amitabh Bachchan films, my father and his friends having musical sittings and discussing Naushad sahab’s to Khayyam sahab’s music. My father always told me one thing, ‘Pakistan ki behetari is by having good relations with India.’ Pakistanis have been taken for a ride for many years by the rulers there. We don’t deserve this. Since there is not so much tourism in Pakistan, we crave to show people when they come that we can love. So we outpour our love on Indians that come there through our emotions and food.
 
Talk about Total Siyapaa?
There is a reason I did this film. I questioned myself that I do films for myself but what am I giving to others to think. I have hung on to what my father said that it is very important for our people to understand the necessity of coming together for peace and for people to know that tasveer ke dono rukh hote hain. To be able to develop the ability in people that agle ka bhi ek point of view hota hai and he too believes in his point of view. So till you don’t talk, nothing can happen. The film does not convey this in a heavy-duty way, but somewhere it is there in a lighter way. I could do another commercial film and become a bigger star. What will happen? Whatever I want I have, wherever I want to travel or live in the world, I can, whatever in the world I want to buy, I can. Family I have. So why should I not leave behind things that matter?
 
Any unfulfilled wishes?
I came here knowing nobody, that too from Pakistan. I spend 75% of my time here and miss my family terribly as after a hard day’s work, I cannot go back to them. So I tell Ayesha, ‘A rockstar’s life is not possible without sex, drugs and rock and roll. So please come as much as you can as I don’t indulge in any of those.’ But she is a hands-on mother who wants to drop Azaan to school everyday. So that is the only regret I have. But other than that, if I was to die tomorrow, I would feel that I have experienced everything. I think it’s time to give back as much as I can now.

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 26, 2013)

Ali Zafar was trumped by Hrithik Roshan for the title of Asia’s Sexiest man last year but that may change this year with the Pakistani export’s name trending on Twitter during the ongoing voting for the title this year.

But, the popstar-turned-actor is oblivious of the hoopla and rather nonplussed by his sex symbol status.

The happily married actor who also has a young son with wife Ayesha Fazli told Mirror, “Well, it’s great that I can be sexy without taking off my shirt and romancing only my wife. But honestyly I’m still trying to figure out why people find me sexy.”

What if he made it to the top spot this year? “It’ll be flattering for my fans and it was a proud moment for my family when they found me trending on twitter. It didn’t make much of a difference to my wife since she’s always found me sexy,” he quips.

The singer-actor who had to postpone his concert tour to next year in order to complete work on his upcoming Bollywood film, Total Siyapaa, plays a Pakistani boy in love with an Indian girl a la Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza, in the film. “I know of at least two boys from India who have married Pakistani girls and vice versa. You usually make films to entertain people, but once in a while a film like this comes along in which you are the catalyst who could help break age-old perceptions that have coloured relationships between the two countries,” he says about the film, an official remake of a Spanish film, Only Human, which revolves around a Jewish girl and a Palestinian boy.

The film was earlier titled Aman Ki Asha, so why did they change it considering that the title has an instant connect with the Indo-Pak peace initiative?“Aman Ki Aasha was the working title because the male protagonist is called Aman and the girl’s name is Asha. But since the film is a romcom we thought that the title is not a good fit. So we went with Total Siyappa, confident that the word ‘siyappa’ would whip up curiosity amongst the viewers since it’s not an oftused word. FYI it means chaos and the title track will explain it,” he says.

Ali, whose last film Chashme Baddoor was a superhit in Pakistan too, is hopeful that this film too will get an official release across the border. Point out to him that many entertainment channels in Pakistan were recently fined for over-doing the “Indian” content” and he says, “You have laws in India too that restrict the amount of foreign content. Ditto for Pakistan. You can’t cross the line and get away with it.”

Next up is Kill Dil in which finally he gets to play a gun-toting action hero. “I had held a gun before but never fired one. It gives you a sense of responsibility and power. Now I wish someone would offer me the role of a bad guy next,” he grins.

His co-star in Kill Dil, Parineeti Chopra, is a singer too and hoping to sing with him. “I’m looking forward to jamming with her on the sets too. We’ve met just once but I’m told she’s a really good singer,” he says.