Ali Zafar

Ali Zafar is a singer-songwriter, actor, model, producer, screenwriter and painter from Lahore. His parents, Mohammad Zafarullah and Kanwal Ameen, were both professors at the University of the Punjab. He studied at Government College University and at the National College of Arts, graduating in 2002 with an honours degree in painting.

He started as a sketch artist at the Pearl Continental Hotel in Lahore and acted in PTV serials before music took over. His debut album, Huqa Pani (2003), featured “Channo”, which topped charts and won awards. The album sold over five million copies worldwide. In 2010 he took the lead in the Bollywood satire Tere Bin Laden, which earned him Best Male Debut nominations, including at the Filmfare Awards. His success there encouraged many Pakistani actors to try Hindi films. Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Chashme Baddoor and Dear Zindagi followed.

His honours include five Lux Style Awards and a Filmfare nomination. On 23 March 2021 he received the Pride of Performance from President Arif Alvi at the President House in Islamabad.

Before films he acted in the PTV serials Kollege Jeans and Kanch Ke Par (both 2000) and Landa Bazar (2002). Tere Bin Laden, directed by Abhishek Sharma and released in July 2010, cast him as a Karachi journalist who fakes an Osama bin Laden video to get to America. It was a hit in India but banned in Pakistan. He composed the soundtrack of London, Paris, New York (2012), sang the title music for the drama Zindagi Gulzar Hai, which won Best Original Soundtrack at the 12th Lux Style Awards, and starred in David Dhawan's Chashme Baddoor (2013), Total Siyappa and Kill Dil (both 2014).