Status: Married
Birthday: April 1983
Horoscope: Aries
Born: Karachi
Who is he?
Girls, when was the last time you actually met a ‘funny’ doctor? We’ve met serious doctors, insensitive doctors, boring doctors, touchy-feely doctors but none of them come with the kind of humour our funnyman-with-an-MBBS Danish Ali does.
Danish started his career with an English improvisational troupe, along with Saad Haroon at a time when improv was still a relatively new concept in Pakistan. Within just a few years, he had become a brand in his own right. When he wrote and hosted, with Saad Haroon, Pakistan’s first English comedy TV Show on Play TV called The Real News he became the first Pakistani comedian to break the one million views mark on YouTube a couple of years ago. “The show was even featured on Al-Jazeera,” he claims proudly.
He broke off from the troupe in 2011 and launched his solo career with his stand-up show Danish Ali Live. Last year, he was invited, along with another comedian, on a US state department-sponsored comedy tour of America and performed at venues in Providence, Worcester and New York, and at Dartmouth College. He recently wrapped up the first season of his comedy TV show The Real Show with Danish Ali on Aaj TV which he wrote and produced along with up-and-coming comics that he trained.
Who would think that Danish had wanted to be a surgeon since eighth grade? It was when he actually got to medical school that he discovered that laughter was the best medicine. “I love it when people laugh — isn’t it just the best feeling?” says the man who calls himself the poster boy for not having a plan. And though he still thinks about heading back to the OR someday, for now the stage and the small screen are keeping our hottie busy.
Seems like Danish is on a roll and pretty soon we’ll be asking “Russell Peters who?”
Why he is droolworthy
While Rhett Butler and Darcy may be easy on the eyes and act like they just stepped out of an Austen novel, in the real world you need a guy with a real degree — which explains the appeal of McSteamy and McDreamy of Grey’s Anatomy. And when we’re looking for the intelligence and humour combo in Pakistan, Danish surely comes across as our McFunny — he’s smart enough to have gotten a fancy degree but sharp enough to have realised that he can fix more problems with his jabbing wit.
“I never made an effort to be funny; I don’t think I was that funny, not intentionally at least,” says the class clown on his sense of humour.
What you didn’t know about him
He’s a huge fan of himself. “I have this giant ego, and if somebody comes up to me and says something which is not nice, I’m going to hold it against that person forever! I really like to be complimented,” he admits unapologetically.
And if you’re planning on heckling him during a live comedy show to get his attention, just remember he loves to “spar and kick-box” — even though he confesses he’s really bad at it.
The comedian is also a sucker for fishing, cigars and “staring at beautiful people”. He gets most of his inspiration from “stupid people” and believes that “the world seems to be full of them which means that I may have a great career!”
Not many know that this ‘Jack of all trades and master of fun’ can speak French. He grew up exploring every nook and cranny of France with his older brother. “Growing up in France was great. The French are very sophisticated and I’m the opposite. I desperately look for people in Pakistan I can practice my French with,” he says.
When asked what he looks for in a woman, Danish replies, “Brown eyes, maybe a brunette; a dancer or a kick-boxer ideally. I like the idea of a contemporary woman with an old soul. Slow dancing, jazz, cigars and girls whose style is reminiscent of the swinging 60s are just super hot.” And then he confesses candidly, “I’m a sucker for foreigners and foreign accents, which is why when I was young I’d always fall for the new girl in town. Eye contact and class all the way, ladies.”
Published in The Express Tribune, Ms T, January 13th, 2013.
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