Bollywood is hard work, says Ali Zafar

KARACHI: 

After his energetic performance with actor Humaima Malik at the Lux Style Awards Tuesday night, The Express Tribune caught up with actor-singer Ali Zafar for a quick chat backstage.

He was sitting with his wife Ayesha Fazli while he watched clips from his LSA performance of “Madhubala”; he shook his head disapprovingly as he spotted some mistakes in the routine, acknowledging that the performance would have to be re-done for recording purposes after the guests had left.

The star said that his upcoming Bollywood flick, Chashme Buddoor,which was all set to be released during Eid, has now been delayed. “There are a couple of good films coming up during that time and this one is a very special one. We don’t want it to lose its special place, so its release has been re-scheduled for December this year,” he said. Directed by David Dhawan, who also directed Bollywood flickPartner, Chashme Buddoor is a remake film of a 1981 film of the same name and also stars veteran Indian actors Juhi Chawla and Anupam Kher.

Bollywood is not easy, he said.“Does anything come easy in this world?” he asked. “It’s (Bollywood is) a lot of hard work.”

Zafar’s journey has indeed been long. From his days of painting portraits as an artist at the Pearl Continental hotel in Lahore, he has undergone a complete metamorphosis. “It’s all been very rewarding. I worked hard, gave a lot of time to music and I am grateful that people really appreciated my work.,” Zafar said with pride. “Although more of my work is now concerned with Bollywood, I never let go of a chance to perform here in Pakistan!”

“I do stuff here, like the LSA performances, because my true identity comes from Pakistan.”

When we asked the actor what his plans in the near future are, he surprised us by saying “In three to five years, it’s definitely going to be Hollywood.” We wish him the best of luck!