Ali Zafar with Divyendu Sharma and Siddharth in Chashme Baddoor

How did Chashme Baddoor (releasing on April 5) happen?

I got a call about the film. It sounded like fun. And, I was really keen on working with David Dhawan. He has given us such entertaining films over the years. After Tere Bin Laden, my friend Shanoo Sharma had told me that I should work with David in at least one film. I never thought I would get the chance this early in my career. It was only after I spoke to David about the film that I ended up watching the original (a 1981 film starring Farooque Shaikh and Deepti Naval).

How similar is it to the original?

David has maintained the soul of the older film but treated it differently. He has added quite a few new angles and twists to the story. It is modern with dialogues that the youth will identify with.

How was it working with David Dhawan?

David is such an amazing person to work with. There is a little kid hidden in him. He is such a veteran but he doesn’t make you feel that way. He is very funny on the sets and is always playing around. What I loved about working with him is that he gives his actors the space to experiment. His experience shows in how quick he is while shooting. He knows exactly what he wants for a scene. I have never worked with anyone as quick and sure as him.

In a film about three friends, it must have been important for Siddharth, Divyendu Sharma and you to bond?

Absolutely. Though, interestingly, we didn’t know each other at all before the first day of shoot. In my previous films, I have had the opportunity to know my co-actors during the workshops, readings or photo-sessions. We didn’t have any of this for Chashme Baddoor. So, there was nothing to break the ice before the first day. We got to know each other through the shoot of the film. It was an interesting and collaborative process. Most of the film was shot in Goa, so all of us boys would head out to the beach after pack-up.

It has been less than three years since your debut film Tere Bin Laden. How much has life changed?

It has changed for the good. I have no complaints. I get to do the things I love... have new experiences... travel to exciting places for shoots.

Is it true that one of your earliest jobs involved painting portraits in a five-star hotel lobby in Pakistan?

It is. I would do 20-minute sketches in the lobby every evening after college. I come from a humble background. My parents didn’t have the resources to help get the equipment and instruments that I needed for my music career. So, I started earning very early in life. This painting gig led to modelling which paid for my first synthesiser and guitar.

Many call you Pakistan’s most famous export to India!

(Laughs) Really? I am humbled. I just keep a certain responsibility of how I carry and conduct myself here because I want people to understand that Pakistan is a lot more than just what people hear or read about in the media.

What do you think is the biggest misconception in India about Pakistan and in Pakistan about India?

People tend to think that everyone in Pakistan has a beard, women are always in veils and our society is very conservative. Well, there are people like that, just like you have conservative people in India too. But there is a large part of Pakistan that is progressive and liberal. Students go to cafes, concerts and parties...

Pakistanis think that Indians look at all Pakistanis with suspicion. It’s not true. I have only received love and acceptance here. Recently, I got a few of my friends from Pakistan to visit me in India and they went back saying that their perception of India and Indians had completely changed.

What is the most common question you get asked by your Pakistani friends about Bollywood?

Everyone wants to know if Katrina (Kaif) is as pretty in real life. I tell them she is (smiles).

You have a jam-packed year coming up...

That’s right. There’s E. Niwas’s Aman Ki Asha with Yami Gautam in March. I play a Pakistani in the film and it will be shot in London. In April, I am on tour with Sunidhi Chauhan in the US. And in May, I am going to be walking the red carpet at Cannes! I plan to celebrate my birthday (May 18) there. I then come back and start working on getting a six-pack before I start shooting the Yash Raj film Kill Dil (with Ranveer Singh and Parineeti Chopra). It’s directed by Shaad Ali and will be my first action film.

Karishma Upadhyay

Will Ali Zafar make it big in Bollywood? Tell t2@abp.in