ALL ROUNDER STAR OF INDO-PAK ! 
BIOGRAPHY :
Ali Zafar (Punjabi, Urdu: علی ظفر, born May 18, 1980 in Lahore, Pakistan) is a Pakistani musician, composer, song writer, singer, actor, painter and model,popular for his music and now movies. His popular numbers include his hits like "Channo", "Rangeen", "Chal Dil Merey", "Dekha", "Masty", "Jhoom", "Sajania", "Madhubala","Voh Dekhney Mein", "Dastan-e-ishq" and "Yar Dhadhi Ishq". He started his singing career with the song "Jugnuon Se Bhar Le Aanchal" in the film Shararat, directed by Pakistani actress and director Samina Peerzada but made a big mark with his first single "Channo" from his first album "Huqa Pani" that sold more than seven million copies worldwide. The album turned out to be one of the biggest hits ever in Pakistan with "Channo" topping the charts all the way for a long time. Zafar made his acting debut in the 2010 Indian film Tere Bin Laden by director Abhishek Sharma.His second movie was Mere Brother Ki Dulhan followed by London, Paris, New York. He has sold over 15 million copies worldwide.
Zafar married his long-time fiancee Ayesha Fazli(paternally related to Indian actor Aamir Khan)on July 28, 2009 in Lahore. On March 6, 2010, he became a father to a baby boy, whom he named Azaan Zafar.
Ali was born to two professors at the University of the Punjab. He initially attended the C.A.A. Public School and later moved to the Beaconhouse School System from where he topped in his matric examinations. He then went onto Government College, Lahore and completed his FA. Later he graduated from the National College of Arts as a painter in 2002 with honors. Before entering the Pakistani musical scene, Zafar worked as a model for several commercial advertisement besides acting in television. He also worked as a portrait artist in a hotel lobby of a five star hotel in Lahore namely Pearl Continental where he used to draw 20 minutes wuick sketches of visitors and guests. It was there where he was spotted for a modelling campaign. He later worked in some Pakistan television miniseries like Kollege Jeans. He was also in the music video of Preeto sung by Abrar-ul-Haq. In college he also acted in a Musical theatre based on "Ten things i hate about you".
CAREER :
Ali Zafar made his debut as a musician with the album Huqa Pani, released in Pakistan in 2003 and worldwide in 2005. The album was an instant hit, selling over 600,000 copies worldwide and winning several major awards and nominations. It also put him into the league of the most popular artists ever to have come out of Pakistan with a massive fan following locally and internationally. With time he proved to be perhaps one of the most versatile singer in the modern generation with a distinct vocal tone and qualities, specially during his folk and Sufi renditions in the "Coke Studio (Pakistan)", where he surprised his audiences with live renditions of difficult notes with much ease and ranging his singing from pop to folk to semi-classical. His new songs, namely "Allah Hu", "Yaar Dhadhi Ishq" (a cover), "Nahin Ray Nahin" and "Daastan-e-Ishq" won the hearts of millions all over the world once again and earned him a new era of fan following.
His first two albums namely "Huqa Pani" and "Masty" were pop albums but with his third album "Jhoom" Zafar made a shift towards more serious and spiritually inclined music. The album,besides his own, had verses from the great Sufi poets like Bulley Shah, Baba Ghulam Fareed and Mirza Ghalib. The album that Zafar produced, arranged, mixed and engineered himself showcased a visible transition and growth in him both as a musician and as a writer and elevated him into a space of a well respected and serious musician with multiple talents rarely witnessed.
He won the award for "Best Album" category at the Lux Style Awards in 2004 for his massive hit album Huqa Pani and also the "Best Male Artist" at the 2008 MTV awards.In addition to the album's popularity being reflected in the music stores and by critics, it has been widely claimed that Himesh Reshammiya plagiarized one of the most well-known tracks from the album, Rangeen, for his song Dillagi Mein Jo.Soon Pritam too copied his track "Channo" as "Chori ki Baatein" in the film Fight Club.
Zafar launched his second album "Masty" nationwide in November 2006. He has since released four videos from the album called "Masty", "Sajania", "Dekha" and "Aasmaan" which again went to becoming a big hit.
Besides being a singer, painter, model and an actor, Zafar has also produced and directed his music video Ek Pal from his first album Huqa Pani. His song "Dekha" of his album Masty was part of the soundtrack of American film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps which was released on September 24, 2010. He is the fourth Pakistani artist after Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Strings and Atif Aslam to have their song(s) featured in an American film.
On February 14th, Zafar released his third album which was much different from his earlier works consisting of sufi semi classical rendition of folk and sufi verses fuzed with modern instruments. It also included renditions from Coke studio and Ghazals from Mirza Ghalib. This time Zafar seemed more mature and thoughtful in his approach to music revealing a more seious side to his personailty and music. Tracks such as the title track "Jhoom", "Jee Dhoondta Hai", "Koi Umeed" and "Jaane-e-Man" had a timeless feel to them and earned him further respect and popularity in the field of serious music listening.
FILMOGRAPHY :
Being a pioneer in his craft, Ali has yet again set a precedent by being the first ever Pakistani star/singer to be featured as a solo main lead in a Bollywood movie namely Tere Bin Laden, directed by Abhishek Sharma which was a success both critically and commercially.Tere Bin Laden released on the 16th of July, 2010 and was a major hit for a low budget movie. The film grossed over US $1.11 million in its opening weekend, internationally it grossed $150,000 from Britain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Australia, during the period. At the end of its theatrical run, the movie had collected US $1.83 million. This phenominal success of Tere Bin Laden made Ali Zafar a Bollywood star over night. Not only did he receive more than 40 offers post Tere Bin Laden but he also made history by being the first Pakistani actor to be nominated for any Bollywood awards. He got nominated for IIFA, Star Screen, Zee Cine and Filmfare awards of 2011 in the best male debut category. He was also the first Pakistani to be called to Indian Film Festival at Australia in March 2011 for his movie screening.
Ali Zafar who took up movies as a serious career after his debut film has proved himself once again with his second film under Yash Raj Films, banner Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, directed and written by Ali Abbas Zafar and produced by Aditya Chopra. Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, was one of the most anticipated films of 2011. Released on 9th September, the film was both critically acclaimed and a commercial success like his first film. Ali's performance was specially praised by the industry.The film also stars Imran Khan and Katrina Kaif.
Before MBKD could release, he had already started shooting for a love story, "London, Paris, New York". This Rose movies and Star 20th century Fox production, is in post production phase and will be hitting theaters by end of February 2012, which also received great critical acclaim as well as impressive overseas revenue. Apart from acting as male protagonist in the film opposite Aditi Rao, Ali Zafar is also the music director.
Currently, he is shooting his next venture, Chashme Buddoor which is a remake of the 1981 cult-classic. He has also signed his first action film which is the remake of 2012 Tamil blockbuster "Vettai" opposite Shahid Kapoor.
AWARDS :
18th Sexiest Man Of Asia (Eastern Eye - 2006)
8th Sexiest Man Of Asia (Eastern Eye - 2007)
YAN National Youth Forum 2007 - Youth Ambassador
4th Sexiest Man Of Asia (Eastern Eye - 2008)
8th Sexiest Man Of Asia (Eastern Eye - 2009)
4th rank in "51 Most Beautiful and Handsome Men" (fortnightly newspaper)
5th Sexiest Man Of Asia (Eastern Eye - 2010)
19th Most Desirable Man (itimes.com - 2010)
Indian Poll : Face of the Year - 2010 (More Than 400000 Votes)
Best Debut Artist Huqa Pani 2004
Best Album Huqa Pani 2004
Best Pop Artist Huqa Pani 2004
Superstar of Tomorrow Mere Brother Ki Dulhan 2012
Best New Talent-Male Mere Brother Ki Dulhan 2012
CLICK FOR DESI STUFF ! ...