KARACHI: After making a mark in India and Pakistan with five Bollywood films and belting music albums, singer-actor Ali Zafar will now be hosting Bollywood’s first-ever Box Office Awards on October 9.
A collaboration between Star Plus and Box Office India magazine, Star Box Office Awards will recognise the achievements of Hindi films. The Awards will not only acknowledge films with the highest box-office collections but will also honour directors and actors, who managed to make some unusual records at the box office this year.
Ali will be hosting the event along with actor-singer Ayushman Khurrana. “I am really looking forward to the night. Your camaraderie with the co-host makes the experience effortless and Ayushman is a great guy. I think it’s going to be a memorable experience,” he said.
Ali, who has had a viable career across the border, doesn’t shy away from praising and promoting fellow Pakistani actors working in Bollywood. “Whenever I used to see Fawad on TV, I always thought he deserved much more. He has been projected well with his first project [Khoobsurat] and he rightly deserves it,” he commented. “I want more Pakistani actors to come to India. The more that happens, the more we’ll be able to understand each other.”
Talking about his experience of doing one of the biggest Yash Raj Films movies of 2014, the Govinda-starrer Kill Dil, Ali said, “I have been a Govinda fan ever since I started watching Bollywood movies. Being able to share screen space with him was an experience I hadn’t dreamed about.”
The title track of Kill Dill, featuring Ali, Govinda and Ranveer Singh in raw killer avatars has received a raving response upon release and has also increased excitement among the audience for the film, which releases on November 14.
Ali shared that he played a part in making fashion choices for his role in the film. “It was Ranveer and my decision to opt for the colours that we are wearing throughout the film. I had to look dangerously sober and more serious. Ranveer’s character is bubblier. So, I picked black and Ranveer will be mostly seen wearing white.” Directed by Shaad Ali, Kill Dill revolves around the lives of two killers, played by Ranveer and Ali, and the ups and downs they face while tackling their boss, Govinda, who had trained them to be killers.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 10th, 2014.
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