Ali Zafar is the ‘fifth sexiest Asian man’, according to a poll conducted by the Eastern Eye Weekly. The singer-composer-actor from across the border, who made a successful Bollywood debut with Tere Bin Laden (2010), following it up with another hit, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan was placed ahead of last year’s topper Ranbir Kapoor (No. 6), John Abraham (No. 7), Akshay Kumar (No. 9), Arjun Rampal (No, 11), Imran Khan (No 12), Saif Ali Khan (No 13), Aamir Khan (No. 35) and even fellow Pakistani singer-actor Atif Aslam (No.16). Placed ahead were Hrithik Roshan (No.1), Shahid Kapoor (No. 2), Shah Rukh Khan (No. 3) and Salman Khan (No. 4).
No one is more surprised than Ali himself by the results. “Sexy and me?” he shrieks from Goa. “Achi baat hai (it’s a good thing) but I don’t even know what sexy means. And given that Asia is the most populated continent, I don’t know how I made it to the list.”
Prod him on his choice of the sexiest Asian woman and there is a never-ending pause, “Hmmmm, Charlize Theron is hot but I guess she wouldn’t qualify. Lady Gaga? She’s not for me! Bollywood beauties? Well, they are all sexy. Actually I find musicians and writers hot because more than looks it’s words that are magical. Knowledge and intelligence is a big turn on.”
Prod him on his choice of the sexiest Asian woman and there is a never-ending pause, “Hmmmm, Charlize Theron is hot but I guess she wouldn’t qualify. Lady Gaga? She’s not for me! Bollywood beauties? Well, they are all sexy. Actually I find musicians and writers hot because more than looks it’s words that are magical. Knowledge and intelligence is a big turn on.”
So, is he, like Salman and Shah Rukh, asked to take off his shirt by swooning fans? That query draws an amused chuckle, “No, that hasn’t happened yet, thank God. I’m usually asked to sing. I have been told that people find my voice sexy.”
It’s interesting that the topper, Hrithik, is a happily-married man with two kids, and so are SRK, Akshay, Arjun and even Ali himself. Does this mean that ‘sexy’ is no longer confined to just eligible bachelors like Shahid, Ranbir and John? “I think a stable male figure is appealing to women. Even in the animal kingdom, they veer towards those who offer protection and security. It’s sexy to be ‘guarded’ by a man who sees you as his own and is faithful to you,” reasons Ali.
Interestingly, he’s just wrapped up his first love story, London, Paris, New York. Will he live up to his ‘sexy’ tag in Anu Menon’s directorial debut? Ali says, “I hope so, there’s a lot of passion and romance from the first frame to the last.”